The Remnants: A Saga, Part I of III
by BiiiiiiiiigBellyTheDragon
Summary: "The Remnants" picks up where Volume 4 left off and continues on from there. This saga may seem tame at first, but readers beware: wild turns will be taken, and the universe as our heroes know it will be changed forever!
1. The City of Mistral

**CHAPTER 1:**

**THE CITY OF MISTRAL**

* * *

A pink-and-yellow hummingbird, after taking a fraction of a second to hover in place and contemplate its next course of action, dove into the adjacent orchid flower to tap the sweet nectar within. The ever-thirsty bird, having visited every other flower in that particular grove, flew without pause to the edge of the cliff and began its long descent down the mountain's staggering height.

Breaching a wispy film of cloud, the little hummingbird regarded the natural splendor of the great city of Mistral with as much awe as a human might give a stone on the side of the pathway. For it, finding food was the foremost concern, with such concepts as beauty far beyond its understanding. As the bird approached the level of a platform jutting from the side of an adjacent mountain, it paused to hover midair and smell the wind currents for floral aromas before darting towards the platform. Its target, a circular trellis garlanded with pink flowers, ringed the entrance to a passageway cutting deep into the mountain.

The hummingbird, taking no notice of the voices echoing down the tunnel, wasted no time in digging into the feast before it. As the volume of the human noises increased, however, the naturally nervous creature began to show signs of trepidation as it moved between flowers. Had the bird any capacity for human language, it would have understood one girl in particular to be inquiring:

"So, _whose_ idea was it to walk all the way to Haven again?"

And had the hummingbird any foreknowledge of the approaching humans, it would have recognized the trumpeting half-shout cutting through the general muttering as that of ever-bubbly Nora Valkyrie, bane of legs, pancakes, and Death Stalkers alike. To the hummingbird, though, she was only very loud - just enough, as it was, to frighten it off, riding the restless wind currents as it fled the scene.

The humans had by then reached a point where a man's smooth growl could be heard answering back, "Unless I heard incorrectly, it was the only option you guys had left after realizing that you were broke and couldn't get train tickets."

Qrow Branwen shot a teasing grin towards his honorary niece, whose subsequent pout didn't hide at all the playful sparkle in her silver-hued eyes.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know boats were so expensive?", Ruby Rose snipped back, eliciting a chuckle from her fellow Huntsmen.

"The important thing," put in tall Jaune Arc, before the grizzled veteran could retort in jest, "is that we made it. And without any of us dying horrible deaths!"

"Well," chided Ruby as she returned Qrow's grin, "some of us didn't make that so easy, did they?"

Qrow knew what the young Huntress was talking about; he had indeed been in mortal danger during the final leg of their journey, much to his niece's worry. He also knew that it was kind of Ruby's fault that he'd been poisoned by Tyrian Callows in the first place. But he deemed it imprudent to bring that bit up, instead taking the jab in stride.

"Hey."

Building upon Ruby's comment, Nora placed her hands on her hips, cocked her head, and cracked a grin at Lie Ren, her team partner and closest friend since they were around seven. Unlike Qrow, his near-death experience was entirely his own fault, and was only averted by Nora's timely intervention. Ren knew he probably deserved that look from her, but he followed his elder's precedent regardless.

"Hey."

Catching his tone, Nora could only giggle, for any frustration she might have felt with him during that battle against the dreadful Nuckelavee had long dissipated. Like Jaune had said, the important thing now was that they were both alive - and on top of that, their friendship had recently began proceeding in an unexpected, yet nonetheless welcome, manner. In fact, Nora had considered giving Ren a peck on the cheek for his sheepish response - but, _nah_...maybe later, at a better time. After all, the tunnel had just ended, and the glory of Mistral lay before them.

The sight was far too much for Ruby to resist running to the edge of the platform, not even bothering to heed the red tips of her black, uneven hair blowing in her face. So amazed was she that no sound escaped her mouth where she might normally have exclaimed. In front of her, the Central Valley of the city laughed and talked, walked and ran about, shouted and whispered - for indeed, if words had come to the young woman, she would have described the city as alive and breathing - above the rumble of a dozen waterfalls. The regal offices of state and ornate homes of the wealthy crowned the highest peaks, while the ancient, carved fjords below housed the vibrant throng of Mistral's notorious marketplace. All manner of greenery and foliage shared the weathered mountainsides with the homes of the city's many inhabitants, each a piece of art in its own right. A trio of storks the size of eagles patrolled the skies above as Ruby marveled at it all, not even looking back to acknowledge her friends as they caught up to her. Surely, Mistral was not as grand as Vale, but even the grounds of Beacon Academy could never compare to the rugged beauty now on display. Ruby made a second attempt at speech, this time managing a half-whispered, "Wow..."

"'Wow' is right, kiddo," said Qrow as he strolled over to his niece's side. "Thought I might take you guys down the scenic route."

"Indeed," put in Ren, who had been to the city with Nora before and could not resist relaying to his friends everything he knew about it. "Mistral has long been home of one of Remnant's most diverse cultural hubs, boasting perhaps the richest art traditions and - "

But Ruby - who hadn't been listening to Ren in the slightest - spotted a particularly prominent weapons vendor in the middle of the marketplace below, and then it was all over.

"Ahhhhh! Weapons! Look down there, Uncle Qrow - that's a vintage Atlesian Musket-Spear, I didn't even know those still existed! And _that's - _!"

His monologue interrupted by Ruby's sudden, excited rant, Ren fumbled over his words in some half-baked variation of, "Err, um, I wasn't finished yet...", while Nora giggled at him again. Meanwhile, Jaune ran a gauntleted hand through his wavy, blonde hair as he stared fixated at the many-colored marketplace. Though he had grown up in the Kingdom of Mistral like Ren and Nora, his family had never traveled to the city proper. As it was, the view was almost as much the novelty for him as it was for Ruby.

"Man," the young Huntsman muttered, mostly to himself. "It seems like everything's for sale here."

Qrow, unusually perceptive for a habitual drinker, heard him anyway and chuckled drily at his remark.

"Yep, you can buy just about anything here in Mistral, legally or otherwise," he said as he grabbed hold of Ruby's red cape, just in case the overexcited girl tried to rocket off the balcony with her Semblance.

"Illicit goods of all sorts are traded in Mistral," Ren began again, having regained his verbal footing. "It is why the kingdom is just as infamous for its black market as it is for its culture. Dealers will trade in such contraband items as stolen Dust, banned weapons, opioids, exotic goods - "

"PANCAKES!"

Nora's yell startled everyone out of their stupor, and cut Ren off once again. He was noticeably more prepared for such an incident.

"Ah, Nora, I'm quite certain those are legal..."

"Huh? No, I just want pancakes," said Nora, pointing at the pancake vendor she had spotted down below. She then turned to her partner and flapped her arms wildly as she announced at full volume, "I'M HUNGRY!"

"You know, me too," said Jaune, echoing his teammate's sentiment. "How about we all go down and get a bite to eat?"

Team RNJR looked to Qrow for approval, who glanced at his scroll before answering.

"Eh, we've got time. Don't see why not. Here," he said as he handed a few Lien notes to Jaune. "You guys go off and get food. I'm gonna go find a bar."

"Don't get too drunk, Uncle Qrow," grinned Ruby as the posse walked onto the adjacent elevation platform.

"I thought I told you, kid: I don't _get_ drunk."

"You big liar!"

Qrow looked over at Ruby and her rightfully skeptical teammates, and decided that a small concession might be necessary.

"Well...except sometimes, maybe..."

Team RNJR shared a laugh over Qrow's half-hearted fib as the elevator descended the sheer, gray rock of the mountainsides towards the valley below.

* * *

Ruby admitted to herself that she was more than a little worried she would get lost in the bustle of the marketplace. Having seen it from afar hadn't quite prepared her for being in the very thick of it; the whole area was an absolute maze of erratic dirt and stone pathways veining through a jungle of booths, stands, and stalls. It certainly did not help that it was currently mid morning, which in Mistral meant Team RNJR had had to duck and weave through a molasses-thick crowd in order to get anywhere. Neither did the fact that everywhere she turned, at least three of her five senses were bombarded by something new and, well, sensational. Qrow had not been wrong; vendors here sold just about every ware conceivable, from baked bread to artistic confections to jewelry to exotic birds squawking irritably in their cages to...the list went on and on. Ruby was so overwhelmed by it all that she was on the verge of forgetting about -

"PANCAKES!"

Nora's triumphant shout pulled Ruby's wandering mind back into focus. _That's right_, she thought to herself. _We're here to get food because Nora wanted pancakes and...where'd Nora go? _It was then that she realized she had had been standing in place while she took in everything, and that her teammates had gone on without her. Thankfully, she was able to spot Jaune peering above the crowd and waving to her, and ran to where he was.

"Sorry, Jaune," she said, a little embarrassed. "It's just, the place is so big and colorful and noisy that I kinda just, you know, got a little lost..."

"Well, you're not alone there," he replied. "If it weren't for Nora's sudden path-finding abilities, I wouldn't have had any idea where I was going."

He was right. In fact, out of the four of them, only Nora's sense of direction seemed to have been unaffected - that direction being the most direct route to the pancake vendor she had spotted earlier. The crowd ahead momentarily thinned, just enough so that Jaune and Ruby could see Nora dragging Ren toward said vendor with enough determination to make an Ursa flinch. She then turned to the two and called out to them, "Come on, sleepyheads, before I eat your pancakes too!"

"Huh, guess we'd better hurry, then," Jaune said to Ruby, who snickered as they headed over to their friends.

Team RNJR ate well that mid-morning, especially considering the extra pancakes the vendor insisted on serving them for free when he learned of their profession.

"You Huntsmen are always putting your lives on the line so that people like me can make pancakes in peace," the smiley, green-haired man explained to the teens. "It's the least I could do to pay you back."

"You, Sir," said Nora through a mouthful of pancake and maple syrup as she looked the vendor dead in the eye. "Are my new. Favorite. Person. Ever." She then swallowed before eyeing Ren's second helping, which he did not seem terribly keen on finishing. "Hey, Ren. You gonna eat those?"

Ren sighed. "Don't hurt yourself, Nora," he said as he pushed his plate over to his ravenous partner. She only replied with maniacal laughter as she shoveled down his helping with gusto. Ruby and Jaune couldn't help laughing at the spectacle.

"You know," Ruby began. "Sitting here with you guys for a moment of peace, it seems like things are almost normal again. Like, when..."

She stopped mid-sentence, however, and her face fell. Jaune, who was the only one really listening, looked at her with a question written on his face.

"Like when what?"

"When...never mind, I'm sorry—"

"Like during the Vytal Festival?" Jaune filled in the blank. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. We joined you guys for lunch after you won your first match, and Pyrrha..." He managed a chuckle. "And Pyrrha offered to pay for everyone after Weiss's card got denied."

"Yeah, that is what I...I'm sorry, I didn't want to, you know...bring that up..." Ruby suddenly no longer found the pancakes in front of her so appetizing, despite them being positively drenched in strawberry-flavored syrup. She felt Jaune's stare upon her, and finally worked up the courage to look back at him. His eyes were full of sadness but, to Ruby's surprise, he was smiling.

"You should never have to be sorry. Not for remembering those we loved," he reassured his friend. "After all, they're why we keep fighting."

If eyes could sparkle, Ruby's certainly did upon hearing this. She remembered that she had spoken those last seven words exactly to Jaune several months before, shortly after Pyrrha's death; he would later claim that is was this encouragement, in part, that had moved him to join Ruby on her quest to Haven. She took a moment to marvel over just how much Jaune had grown since the day they met at Beacon, as both a warrior and a leader. Ruby could hardly help but smile all her pride and appreciation in his direction as she whispered her thanks, though she inwardly resolved not to bring up Pyrrha in front of him again for a while. Her passing was not yet a year ago, and it still haunted the young man; Ruby could see that much, as clearly as daytime.

"Hey, Jaune. You okay?"

Ruby turned around to see Nora looking at Jaune with concern. Of course, she had noticed as well.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Jaune responded as he regained his composure, and seemed to believe it. That was enough for Nora, whose grin then widened to comic proportions as she eyed Jaune's pancakes.

"And no, Nora, I'm not giving you my pancakes," Jaune added before she could ask. "I think you've had enough sugar for one day. Besides, I'm still kinda hungry."

Nora's cheeks puffed out in frustration. Ruby, who understood her teammate's love of sugary food on a deeply personal level, decided to take pity on her.

"Well, I'm actually not so hungry. You can have mi - " Ruby was unable to finish her sentence before Nora had snatched her plate away and was halfway through its contents. Ren sighed again.

"It could be worse, I suppose," he monotoned to nobody in particular. "At least she's not an alcoholic or something." Ren's eyes then widened as he realized that Ruby was sitting right there.

"You gonna take that, Rubes?" asked Nora as her partner tried to fumble out the right words of apology. Ruby only snickered and shrugged, apparently unfazed by Ren's unintentional roast of her uncle.

"I mean, it is true," she said as she shot Ren a smile that meant no apology was needed. Her friends laughed at her quip, and even the pancake man joined in. As she did, Nora thought for a moment that she had seen something more in Ruby's face, and on instinct her eyebrow arched slightly...but, nah - it was gone. _I'm just seeing things_, she thought, and returned to her pancakes.

* * *

Indeed, it was a well-crafted facade on Ruby's part, though beneath it lay no indignation towards anyone, but a newfound anxiety for her uncle's well-being. After Qrow's brush with death, Ruby's admittedly naïve illusion of his invincibility that she had held since the day he entered her life was shattered once and for all. Though the danger had long passed, the trauma had remained in the back of the Huntress's mind like a distant cloud. Thus, her fear of losing him to a madman's venom had deftly spun into a fear of losing him to alcohol, one not built on sand. Qrow had been known to go off on bouts of especially heavy drinking before, often to the point where the man couldn't even recognize his own family by the time they found him. Ruby now saw, far more potently, the danger that this affliction - there was no better word for it - posed to her beloved mentor, and just like before, she felt quite helpless to do anything about it. Sure, Qrow hadn't seemed to be in one of his moods this time, and there hardly seemed any reason for him to be. Still...Ruby worried deeply.

* * *

As it turned out, she really needn't have at the moment. Qrow Branwen was feeling very pleased with himself, and had merely decided that a small reward was warranted. Hence, he had ventured to a much-frequented bar and ordered a single glass of relatively mild liquor...by his standards, anyway. It was there he stood, leaning over the rough, wooden counter and savoring every sip of his glass, when his trained ears easily detected the telltale sound of approaching footsteps behind him. The Huntsman could immediately tell from the footfall's pattern that this was no obvious threat, and so he nonchalantly turned around to face a rather awkward-looking boy with freckles, a decent tan, and messy, dark hair. The kid's pensive posture alone was enough to slightly irritate Qrow, who was in no mood to be bothered by strangers.

"Aren't you a little young to be in here?" he drawled, and the inquiry wasn't misplaced; the boy was shorter than even his niece, and couldn't have been any older than fifteen. He also, apparently, possessed a less-than-average sense of situational awareness, as he seemed to process the question for a few seconds before his face contorted to convey a flustered annoyance.

"Shut up, I'm getting there."

Qrow briefly thought about kicking the kid to the moon; after all, they were entirely alone in the building, with the bartender having gone to the bathroom. But curiosity took hold in his mind, and he decided to at least figure out what this kid was at.

"So. Whaddaya want?"

"I'm..." The kid now seemed more nervous, as well as confused and even somewhat reluctant. "I'm supposed to find you...and ask for...my cane?"

His cane..._oh_. At once, Qrow understood what was going on. He reached behind to grab something on his belt, and his hand returned holding a strange, silver handle decorated with intricate, vine-like swirls and fitted with a slender guard. When the boy made no move to take the cane, he tossed it to him; the boy seemed surprised when his hand reflexively shot out to catch it. Qrow looked down at the new form of his former headmaster, this time with a grin normally reserved for old friends.

"It's good to see you again, Oz."


	2. Dreams

**CHAPTER 2:**

**DREAMS**

* * *

_She was standing in the middle of a dense jungle of green vines_. _Her friends were there with her, and other people, too. She knew that it was not all perfect, of course. She knew that it was not all safe._ _But it was _known_. This was comforting. The jungle was all there was, and the people were content with what they knew. _She _was content._

_But then, a mighty Wind whisked her away. She was now outside the jungle, standing in the middle of a flat, orange, barren plain. Everything was bright now - it was so very _bright_, and unfamiliar! - and she knew it was because now there was no jungle to block the sun. She saw the jungle from far away, and her friends and the people were living under its shade. But, the jungle was more than what it seemed. It was alive, and it was one being. And though it looked like a vast jungle of vines, she could hear it growling and knew now that it was really, somehow, an enormous beast. And it wanted to keep the people from seeing the sun...but _why?

_Now she was afraid, both of the bright sun and of the beast. Then she saw that the beast was in a battle with a great shadow in the form of a dark cloud, and the shadow terrified her. The shadow destroyed parts of the jungle that was the beast, but the beast grew them back. She saw that the shadow wanted to devour the people, and that it would eventually destroy the beast. The shadow began to blot out the sky, and she felt despair as she never thought she could._

_Then, she heard the beast roar. It was not a death cry, but it was angry and frightened. She saw a glimpse of what had made the beast roar. It wasn't the shadow. It was..._blue?

_Before she saw what it was, the shadow made a horrible, chilling, triumphant sound as it made one final advance against the beast and engulfed it it entirely with everyone in it, and she wanted desperately to call out to her friends, but her voice was blocked and she knew it was hopeless, and the shadow came crashing down towards her to devour her - _

* * *

\- and Weiss Schnee awoke from her dream with a panicked cry.

It took her a few seconds to gather her scattered thoughts, and a few more to steady her breathing. She wasn't in a jungle, she reminded herself, and there was no beast and no dark cloud. She was fine. But, then...where was she? Weiss looked around as she sat in her makeshift sleeping bag. That's right...she was on an airship, making her way to -

Weiss's heart leaped when she remembered that she was fleeing to Mistral. She was free from her father! And soon, she would reunite with her older sister, and then they would fly to Vale and find her teammates, and -

_"Hey, kid,"_ Weiss heard the voice of the aircraft's pilot through a walkie-talkie clipped to the bench she had been sleeping on. _"Everything alright down there?"_

Weiss jumped slightly at the noise, then relaxed; the pilot must have heard her shout after she woke up from her dream.

Her _dream_...

Her dream that she _remembered_. This was very unsettling, for a number of reasons. Weiss almost never had dreams, and even when she did, she certainly never remembered any of them. And yet, she had just had a dream so vivid that she had thought it was the very reality she lived in, and she could recall every detail. In fact, it had -

_"Kid?"_ Weiss heard the walkie sound, drawing her back from her thoughts.

"Uh, yeah," she answered back. "Just a dream. I'm fine."

Though this was technically true - Weiss was physically well and unharmed - she couldn't deny that she was feeling rather disturbed at the moment. In any case, the pilot seemed convinced enough.

_"...Alright, just making sure,"_ the voice popped through again, and then the walkie was silent. Weiss sighed, trying to convince herself not to worry about it. After all, she had run away from her morally bankrupt father only days ago, leaving her old life completely behind. This was probably just her mind coping with the sudden changes she was undergoing. And in any case, it was only a dream; it wasn't real.

Now fully returned to the real world, Weiss made to stretch luxuriously - and her nightwear refused to comply. Perturbed, she pulled at the cloth on her abdomen and found, to her initial surprise, that it was damp with perspiration. Weiss sighed again.

"Hell of a dream."

* * *

Lake Matsu was enormous.

That was the conclusion Weiss had reached as she gazed out the right hand window in the cargo bay of the Atlesian airship. They had been flying over the vast, blue sheet for upwards of three hours, and the shore still was not in sight. With little else to do, she decided to talk with the pilot, the only other person on board. The cabin door slid to the side at the press of a button, and in walked Weiss.

"Well, look who's up and about," remarked the pilot, somehow awake and chipper despite ten hours of flying. Weiss smiled. In her time on the plane, the amicable, sassy, and extremely pragmatic man had already grown on her - and she didn't even know his name. (He had elected not to give it, so that the law enforcement couldn't "squeeze it out of you and then nab me", as he had put it.)

"Before you ask:" the pilot said. "No, we are not there yet. Still got about...uhh, two, maybe three hours 'til we get to the Capitol, is my guess."

"Two or three hours!" Weiss gasped, excited.

"Yeah, reckon that's about right," said the pilot as he glanced at the radar to confirm his suspicions. He then cracked a mischievous grin. "If we don't take my favorite shortcut."

"Uh-oh," groaned Weiss with a roll of her eyes. "What could that mean."

The pilot chuckled. "Well, you'll see in a moment. Right now, actually."

He motioned outside the cockpit window, towards a vast field of floating islands and boulders. Something about them seemed familiar to Weiss as she stared at the rocks, especially when she took a closer look...

"The gravity-Dust island fields of Eastern Lake Matsu! I remember reading about those in geography class," she recounted with a bit of typical Schnee pride, at which the pilot snapped his fingers and mouthed the word, "Bingo". Then her face fell as she started remembering a bit more about them.

"Aren't these dangerous to fly through, with the risk of collision and all the turbulence the gravity-Dust causes?"

"Not if you're any good at flying, they aren't," responded the pilot. "And I love to brag, but I'm one of the best there is."

"Then, why are they marked as Blood-Maroon zones on all the flight charts?" Weiss inquired, referring to the inter-Kingdom coding system's classification of highest danger flight-zones.

"One word: Grimm. Bastards love to hang around here, try and catch ships that pass by. They'll tear anything less than a warship to shreds, and this here?" the pilot said as he patted the cockpit wall. "Not a warship."

"Well, then why fly through..." The pieces suddenly clicked into place for the former Heiress. "...a no-fly zone that law-abiding aircraft won't go...oh! It's a perfect smuggler's route!"

"Now you're catching on!" laughed the pilot. "Yeah, it's pretty convenient, cause law enforcement 'round here won't come into these rocks on account of the Grimm, and like I said, it's no problem to navigate for a skilled pilot. Makes for a nice little back door in when you're carrying stuff you technically shouldn't be."

"Like the Dust in the cargo bay?"

"Yup. And the Heiress in my cabin."

Weiss frowned.

"Well, technically it's former Heiress..."

"That's right," the pilot said as he snapped his fingers again. "You're running away. Reckon your old man's not gonna like that too much."

"Oh, he stripped me of my title long before I even tried to run away," Weiss remarked acidly. "And just for calling out some stupid, arrogant bitch for her...her - "

"Stupid, arrogant bitchiness?" the pilot offered.

"Well, I was going to say her absolute ignorance and audacity towards the suffering of the people of Vale, but yeah. That works, too."

The pilot laughed heartily, and Weiss had to join in.

"You know what, kid, I like you," said the pilot. "See, I was really having second thoughts about bringing you on board, but this is kinda fun! I oughta start smuggling runaway kids more often. Heh, maybe while I'm at it, I could make a little side business out of - what the hell?"

His smile disappeared when the ship's radio erupted with static and garbled noise, and he fine-tuned a dial to match the incoming frequency. He finally got it right, and a woman's panicked voice broke through the speakers:

" - _ayday_, _Mayday! If anyone can hear this: we're a small passenger flight under attack by creatures of Grimm! Our Huntress is __down, repeat: our Huntress is _down_! We're trying to lose them in the rocks, but there's too many - _"

The speaker was interrupted by an explosion, followed by a small cacophony of shouts from the background; Weiss' hand instinctively dropped to her sash to rest on Myrtenaster's hilt. After a long few seconds, the woman's voice again broke through the commotion:

_" - anyone is out there, _anyone_, please send help - coordinates are 1415.24-243.88, heading west - "_

The radio went silent as the pilot switched it off, a grim frown now on his face. Shocked, Weiss looked at him expectantly.

"We're going to help them...right?" she asked, suspecting that she wouldn't like the answer.

"Hate to break it to you, kid," the pilot sighed. "But they're toast. If we go over there, we'll only be getting ourselves killed."

"But there's still a chance to save them," Weiss persisted. "I'm a Huntress, I've fought Grimm before!"

"Look, kid," the pilot answered, his still-neutral tone not quite hiding his impatience. "I get it. You wanna protect the innocent and all that, and it sucks that they're all gonna die. But like I said, this thing's not a warship. There's no sense in trying to save already dead people. Besides, it's my ship, and I'll fly it wherever I want."

Well, there was no arguing with that, and so Weiss hung her head in resignation. She knew he was right, at least to an extent, and that she had no choice in the matter anyway. Still, she could not shake the sensation of guilt that had washed upon her. She was a Huntress; protecting those who were unable to protect themselves from the Grimm was what she did, and leaving these people to die just seemed like a dereliction of duty.

The pilot glanced at the radar to recheck the coordinates of the other airship, and the plane shifted slightly as he steered to give it a wider berth.

"Idiots," she heard him mutter to himself. "What the hell is a passenger ship even doing in here? It's like they've got a death wish or something..."

"Unless they aren't a passenger ship," Weiss offered, at which he turned his head slightly. "After all, an airship full of innocent civilians makes for a much more attractive rescue mission than, say, one full of illegal Dust smugglers."

"Heh, well, you got that right," the pilot chuckled mirthlessly. "Either way, they make for good Grimm bait so that we can haul ass outta here."

Weiss refrained from exploding at his comment, remembering that last time she allowed this of herself. So, despite the anger smoldering in her chest, her tone was kept chilly.

"Either way, they are still people," she replied with a harsh staccato. "And should never be degraded to the status of _bait_."

She saw the pilot's grip tighten on the controls, and realized her mistake too late.

"Well, if you're that concerned about their dignity, then by all means, go right on and jump off my ship to your death," he growled through gritted teeth. "Who knows? Maybe you'll save one or two of them before the Grimm tear you to pieces. But _I'm _going to make it out of this alive, and I'm gonna _stay _alive for as long as I can help it! And as for you, you enjoy feeling nice about your good deeds while you can, because at the end of the day, there's nothing to come of it - no _fate__, _no _karma_, no _universal_ _order_, no _god _who rewards you for them in the afterlife! They're all nothing but a damned _waste_!"

Weiss didn't know what nerve she had touched on with him, nor did she think it wise to inquire further of it. With nothing to say in response to his bitter tirade that had ended as suddenly as it had begun, she said nothing, electing instead to stare out the cabin window as she contemplated the pilot's words.

In the minutes-long absence of conversation, the occasional crackle could be heard over the ships engines - doubtless, Weiss inferred, from the pulsing nodes of gravity-Dust buried into the sides of the floating islands. The aircraft's angle had by now put it almost directly in line with the morning sun, the glare on the windshield forcing Weiss to squint as she looked ahead. Despite her good judgement urging otherwise, she found that she couldn't resist trying to stare directly into the sun...and indeed, it hurt, it was so very _bright_...and yet, at the same time, inexplicably hypnotizing..._like it was trying to tell her something...what was it saying...?_

Weiss gasped back into reality as the pain forced her to look away and rub her eyes.

_Damn that dream, _she cursed inwardly. _I'm going to go insane wasting my thoughts over it..._

Relief came to her when a large floating rock blocked out the sun and eliminated the glare. She glanced over at the pilot, hoping he had not noticed her staring straight into the sun like only an idiot would do. Thankfully, that seemed to be the case, as he showed no signs of acknowledgment. In fact, his attention was entirely directed to the front-left of the aircraft...at the cadre of massive, wasp-like Lancer Grimm emerging from behind the rock and heading straight for them!

"Gah! Hang on!" the pilot yelled, and the ship took a hard downwards right as he veered out of the way of the flying Grimm. Weiss had had little time to grab onto the seat in front of her and was nearly tossed about the spinning ship like a doll in the dryer. As it was, she barely held on as the pilot took his ship in a downwards corkscrew spin, veering up just in time to avoid crashing into a lower-floating boulder. The ship's course evened out somewhat, but the pilot clearly sensed that the excitement was far from over.

"Kid, I suggest you buckle up," the pilot grunted, any trace of malice from before now flown from his voice. "Unless you think you can do something to keep those bastards -wait...they're not following us...?"

That apparently was so, as the four creatures had not flown downwards to pursue the Atlesian craft, instead circling around the massive island. Initially confused, Weiss soon realized the truth of the situation as the low humming of another airship's engines became increasingly audible.

Suddenly, the source of the noise, a garden-variety Mistralian transport craft, burst out from the other side of the island, with a respectable swarm of Lancers in hot pursuit. The ship was in dire straits: smoke billowed out of its primary propulsion engine; its wings were tattered, with even a few missing entirely; its gondola bay had been nearly ripped off, and was trailing bits of flying debris; and its hull bore numerous chinks and holes, almost certainly from the Lancers' deadly, elastic stingers. Weiss reluctantly admitted to herself that the pilot's estimations had been on-point: that ship and its crew were goners.

"Well, time to go," said the pilot as he activated the ship's rechargeable boosters, and Weiss again had to grab hold of the seat in front of her as the ship rocketed away from the scene. She looked out the window again to see the Lancers latch onto their quarry from several different angles, smashing into the propeller and causing a fatal crack down the middle of the hull. Evidently realizing that the ship was finished, the Lancers retracted their stingers and flew off, leaving it to careen down towards the lake until it collided nose-first onto a huge island in a blazing shower of splintered wood and twisted metal. Weiss heard the impact and forced down the sensation of sickening guilt, for she could clearly see that the wasp-like Lancers' next target was them. By then, the boosters had died down, and the Grimm were beginning to gain on the airship.

"I assuming that this ship doesn't have weapons?" Weiss asked the pilot.

"Not so much as a pea-shooter. Hey - where're you going?" he asked, for Weiss had by then headed for the cargo hold.

"I'm doing what a Huntress does," she responded. "You don't mind if I borrow some of that Dust in the hold, do you?"

"Whatever you need to keep us breathing, kid!" the pilot called back, but the Huntress had already disappeared through the door.

Weiss grabbed the walkie-talkie off the bench and clipped it to her sash, then ran to the cargo containers stacked towards the back of the hold. Taking hold of one, she hoisted it to the floor and opened it, revealing the multi-colored array of Dust vials; she took a handful and loaded them into Myrtenaster's revolver chamber. The pilot's voice popped through the walkie:

_"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, get ready, 'cause I'm about to open the cargo hold!"_

Weiss, who was indeed thinking what the pilot thought she was thinking, summoned a black gravity Glyph beneath her feet to anchor herself to the ship, and brought her walkie to her mouth:

"Ready!"

The cargo door grunted and whirred as it opened like some great, hinged maw, giving Weiss a full view of the dozen or so pursuing Lancers - and plenty of temptingly clear shots.

_"Alright, kid - I'm gonna try and shake these fuckers off, but I need you to push 'em back first. Can you do that?"_

"Most certainly," Weiss answered with a grin.

_What a Huntress does_, she thought, and the words filled her with a new exhilaration as the thundering wind blew her lopsided ponytail to her front. The Lancers closed in, and Weiss took a stance, summoning several of her basic white Glyphs in a row. She waited until the moment the monsters shot out their stingers to channel the wind Dust from Myrtenaster through her Glyphs, deflecting the deadly barbs with a powerful blast of compressed air and pushing the flock back to a less-uncomfortably close distance from the airship. Now able to maneuver without risk of running into a stinger, the pilot began a breakneck series of wild aerial acrobatics, trying to lead the Grimm into head-on collisions with the massive rocks. The naturally agile Lancers, however, were too familiar with the area to be shaken off so easily, and the flock remained tightly locked onto their target.

_"Dammit, I can't shake 'em!" _Weiss heard the pilot say. _"Looks like it's time for some potshots, kid. I'll line 'em up for you."_

"Got it."

Weiss rotated Myrtenaster's chamber to utilize the fire Dust she had loaded, and once again summoned an array of Glyphs that now glowed a hot orange. As the pilot leveled out the airship, the Lancers became far less difficult targets, as they changed tactics from dodging rocks to closing the distance between them and their quarry. With a battle cry, the Huntress began systematically discharging the pent-up energy within each Glyph in blazing gouts, launching them towards the Lancers. To her frustration, Lancers proved to be surprisingly good at dodging projectiles, and only two out of a dozen hit their mark. Now it was Weiss' turn to swear:

"Dammit! Can you find a tunnel?"

_"Ha! It's like you know how much I love showing off."_

With that, the airship returned to its gut-turning routine of dives, spins, and sudden twists and turns. By then, Weiss had realized just how thankful she was for gravity Dust, and for not yet having had breakfast. Soon enough, the pilot spotted an island with a sizable opening running down the middle, and gunned straight for it. Six of the remaining Lancers followed them through the hole, the others making their way around. Having once more summoned her array of fire-infused Glyphs, Weiss took aim and launched the flaming bolts toward her foes. The Lancers now had much less room to dodge, and were all reduced to ash and black mist in short order.

_"Nice work!"_ the pilot exclaimed as they exited the tunnel. _"Now all that's left is to - "_

His sentence was cut off as the airship was suddenly rocked, accompanied by the shriek of tearing metal. Even with her Glyph holding her in place, Weiss was nearly knocked off her feet. She looked up and saw a barbed stinger protruding through the cargo bay's ceiling, and knew from the way the airship was being pulled about that more had latched on. She realized that the four Lancers that had flown around the tunnel had somehow caught up with them, and decided then that these Grimm in particular were not to be underestimated. Terrified that the pilot might have been killed or knocked unconscious, she was hugely relieved when she heard him shouting again:

_"Gah! Bastards hooked us! Hang on, kid - we're about to experience a bit of turbulence here!"_

Weiss could hear the discordant chewing of the Lancers on the airship's hull. She transferred her gravity Glyph from the floor to the ceiling, pulling herself upwards to stand on it as if on the floor, and thrust Myrtenaster through the hull where she knew the Lancer was clinging. She felt the blade puncture satisfyingly through chitinous plating and into soft innards, and saw the Grimm's misty, black remains trailing the airship through the bay door. Meanwhile, the pilot had taken his ship towards a dangerously narrow crevice in a nearby island. At the last second, he turned the airship on its side; Weiss could hear a worrisome scraping sound as they just barely made it through the gap, but then noticed that the chewing sounds had stopped. She heard the pilot whoop through her walkie:

_"YES! We made it! Take that, suckers!"_

Still on the ceiling, Weiss sighed with relief. Then she heard the pilot swear as he spoke into the walkie again:

_"Ah, shit! Son-of-a-bitch busted a fuel line. We'll have enough to make it to the shore, but after that...well, looks like it's gonna be a long-ass walk to Mistral. Hope you brought something other than high heels, cause I don't have any extra size-6 shoes in my glove compartment...you reading me, kid?"_

But Weiss had tuned him out, instead having picked up and focused on a disturbing and increasingly loud buzzing noise.

"Look out!" she yelled into her walkie, giving the pilot just enough time to swerve away from the monstrously proportioned Lancer coming in hard from below them. As Weiss recovered her balance from the barrel roll, she saw the giant Grimm gaining on the ship and blanched.

"It's a Queen Lancer!" she shouted into the walkie, figuring that the Lancers must have gotten close enough in their pursuit to call for for backup through their hive-mind network.

_"DAMMIT! I'm headed for the shore - __let's hope it doesn't follow too far past the rocks."_

Weiss felt the pull of inertia as the pilot put everything into the engines, and both airship and Grimm were soon out of the island field and over open waters.

"It's not letting up!" Weiss shouted, and her eyes widened as she looked back at the Dust crates in the hold. "I'm gonna launch the Dust crates at it! Hope you don't mind."

_"Do it!"_

Summoning more gravity Glyphs around the hold, Weiss managed to pull the containers from their magnetic locks and hurl them towards the Queen. The crates detonated on the creature in a multi-colored explosion that sent shock waves across Lake Matsu.

"Yes!" Weiss hissed through her teeth. No sooner had the word escaped her mouth than the Queen emerged from the smoke somewhat worse for wear, but still alive and very angry. She felt her innards sink downward with dread...or was it upward? Still crouching on the ceiling, she didn't bother distinguishing.

"Shit," Weiss hissed again, then shouted into the walkie, "It's still alive!"

_"You're serious!? Alright, try to slow it down, whatever you gotta do, and I'll gun it to - "_

Just then, the Queen began bombarding the airship with dozens of flying barbs fired from numerous pores on the underside of its abdomen. Weiss summoned a Glyph in front of her, deflecting the barbs coming her way, but she knew that the rest of the airship had gotten riddled. She felt the ship lurch and heard a disheartening sputtering. The pilot's swearing confirmed her suspicions:

_"ENGINE FAILURE!? Fucking come ON! Well, kid...unless you can pull some crazy miracle from up your ass...it was nice knowing you."_

Weiss saw the Lancer gaining with a vengeance, and in that moment realized they weren't finished yet: she did indeed have a new miracle at her disposal. Not bothering to answer, she dropped down to the floor via gravity Glyph and took a knee with her sword planted in the floor, a different Glyph now forming before her. She saw the Arma Gigas begin to emerge from the blue-white Glyph and thought back to the long months she had spent perfecting this technique during her time trapped in her own home. She thought back to the sting of her father's slap; to the stern yet caring tutelage of her elder sister; to her dear friends, their fates now unknown to her, but whom she would give every ounce of her resolve to see again. Recalled from her thoughts by the clang of metallic boots, she looked up from her concentration to see the fully-formed suit of armor standing before her. The Arma Gigas saluted its master, and Weiss felt her inner strength brim to overflowing.

_Today is yet the day of my finest hour, _resounded the single thought within her mind like great cathedral bells._ Today is the day this warrior runs wild! THIS is the day that I have waited for!_

No verbal command was needed, and no words left the Huntress' mouth; the Arma Gigas simply followed Weiss' glare, waiting for the right moment to strike. The instant it came, it took a two-step running start and leapt from the airship towards the Queen Lancer, its massive sword raised high. In a panicked attempt to stop the onslaught, the Lancer prematurely launched its stinger toward the summoned warrior, missing it terribly. The barb flew past Weiss, who hardly noticed, and went clean through the back of the cargo hold; as it did, the Arma Gigas reached the Lancer. The creature could do nothing as it was neatly cloven in two by the tremendous downwards strike; the two halves remained in the air for all of a second before disintegrating. Weiss let her faithful servant fall just long enough for it to give a final salute before dismissing it and letting the exhilaration drain out of her.

No sooner than she did so than did she notice that something was very wrong. The airship was clearly veering out of control, and so Weiss called into her walkie:

"Hey, what's going on? Come in - what's happening?"

It was then that she saw red droplets fly from the hole in the wall made by the Lancer's stinger. Not daring to look back at the pilot's cooling body, Weiss desperately summoned black Glyph after Glyph in an attempt to keep the ship in the air long enough to land on the shore. To her surprise and relief, she saw Lake Matsu give way to forested land only a hundred or so feet below. She waited until the last possible second before the crash land to jump and summon a white platform Glyph to land on, thinking to summon several more and land gracefully on her feet. Unfortunately, it was right then that her Aura finally gave out, and Weiss found herself crashing through tree branches. The last thing she remembered before her world went dark was landing painfully on her back.

* * *

Even after Weiss came to, everything was a bit of a blur, and she found that she was not really sure what was happening...or what had happened. She couldn't move very much, that was certain, and everything hurt; she was pretty sure one of her eyes was swelling shut. After an hours-long thirty minutes of laying there on her back, Weiss managed to lift her head...and saw a brownish-green blur that was unmistakably a human. Though her eyes still struggled to focus, her hearing was very much intact, and so she felt a jolt of fear when she heard the man (for it was a man's voice) call out in a rather lusty tone:

"Hey, boss! Look what purdy piece o' work we found lyin' over 'ere!"

Another man, similarly colored, could now be seen, and Weiss was not at all happy that both of them were clearly taking in the view. Their heads snapped to attention when a third figure, this one more like a red-and-black blob, strode up between them. Weiss figured that this must be the leader of whoever these filthy hooligans were, judging how the other two blobs stepped back from him (or her; it was hard to tell) and shifted nervously.

"So, uh...what we gonna do, boss?" the other hooligan asked with more than a hint of anticipation. "I mean, with the girly?"

"Nothing involving you two," the red figure spoke in a woman's voice, and the disappointment radiating from the other two was palpable. Weiss found some relief in that, but that was soon dispelled by what she heard next.

"No," the red woman mused. "She's much too valuable for that. You clearly don't have any idea who she is, do you?"

"Uh...no?"

"Then I'll make it simple for you: we just hit the jackpot here."

Weiss had by then managed to turn her head to the side to see, to her delight, Myrtenaster laying in the grass nearby. Instinctively, she reached for it, and only realized her mistake when she saw the woman's boot speeding towards her face. The last thing she remembered before returning to her dreamless sleep was the woman's eyes, her vision having cleared up somewhat: they were red. Why was that so familiar...?


	3. Injustice Everywhere

**CHAPTER 3:**

**INJUSTICE EVERYWHERE**

* * *

Kuo Kuana's city hall was an octagon about a hundred feet across, with a skeleton of heavy wooden beams supporting the walls and roof, and decorative paper walls in the traditional Mistralian fashion. A number of lanterns hanging on the inside cast their warm light down onto the central podium, also octagonal, and the wooden bleachers lining six of the hall's eight walls in a horseshoe-like ring. (The remaining two walls held the building's two entrances.)

Normally, the town hall would have remained empty save a groundskeeper or two, but this night, it was crowded with several dozen of the city's council members and other authority figures. On the podium stood two figures wearing red hoods over their ceremonial white garb, their hands clasped together in a formal Mistralian prose as they addressed their audience.

"It is...disappointing, indeed, to hear of sister Ilia's falling in with our estranged brethren in Vale, of whose actions as of late we must once more reiterate our most grave disapproval. Equally disappointing, if not more so, are these new insinuations of our involvement in some mad conspiracy of Adam Taurus' devices to supplant our leader, to whom we both have pledged our undying loyalty."

Fennec Albain's silky voice was beginning to grate on Ghira Belladonna's ears. He looked around the hall to see if any of the council members and other authority figures were buying into the Albains' flowery words. To his frustration, it seemed that the two brothers had managed to sedate the room from its state of alarm.

"A conspiracy," the fox Faunus continued, "of which has no viable proof whatsoever been displayed."

Ghira was about to explode right then, but his daughter was quicker to speak.

"'No viable proof'!" Blake cried out, aghast. "Then what did you think the plans we found on Ilia's scroll were?!" Having now stood from her seat, she turned to address the others in the room while pointing an accusatory finger at the White Fang representatives. "The proof that Adam is planning this, and that Corsaic and Fennec are in league with him, is right in front of us! The time to act is now!"

"Come now, Miss Belladonna," Corsaic, the elder Albain brother and the more direct of the two, put in with an outwards gesture of the hand amid several cries of agreement. Ignoring Corsaic's slightly patronizing tone, Blake was instead taking note that while Fennec had a way of swaying others to calmness with his charm and carefully worded diplomacy, his brother possessed a natural graveness that lent him a more authoritative presence. She observed how he would channel this presence to subdue unrest in the room when his younger brother failed to calm it, as he was doing now.

"Let us explain exactly what we mean," Corsaic continued once relative silence was achieved and seats retaken. "Ilia Amitola is a spy, and we all know that no spy would carry with them a detailed layout of their superior's plans into potentially hostile territory..."

His pause was perfectly brief, building suspension between his words to ensure he had the council's full attention before continuing on:

"...unless the plans in question were, in fact, nothing but deceptions and falsehoods?"

Blake watched as the brothers exchanged a quick glance before apparently deciding that Fennec would take the reins from there.

"Though we are not surprised to learn that Taurus is planning to attack Huntsmen academies once more, we also know that he is by no means a fool. As brash as he is, even he knows better than to move directly against High Leader Khan. Therefore, I suspect that these 'plans' are little more than a plant, a misdirection to sow panic and division among we who do not adhere to his extremist tendencies."

The council mulled and muttered over this claim for a few seconds, and even Blake found herself almost considering its merits. After all, if Adam's plan was to divide and confuse his opponents on Menagerie, it would certainly appear to be working now. But then, she reminded herself, Adam had never been one to bother with such intrigues. His methods had always been of a more direct bent, and the plans they had found on the scroll fit his nature perfectly. Besides, she saw quite clearly that the Albains were making up whatever excuse they could to cover for Adam and simultaneously absolve themselves of any wrongdoing before the Council. She was about to speak out again, but her moment of indecision had cost her precious moments, and this time it was she who was beaten to the punch.

"Or _maybe_, Adam really _is _planning to take over the White Fang, and Ilia's just a really dumb spy!"

Yelled out Sun Wukong, as if that was obviously the right answer. Chuckles rippled throughout the hall, and even Ghira had to try not to laugh. Seeing this in particular seemed to please the monkey Faunus immensely. Blake resisted the urge to face-palm at her characteristically uncouth friend's outburst, in part to maintain appearances, and mostly because he hadn't been wrong. Well, not entirely, anyway.

The Albains, for their part, had not quite been prepared for such a response as that. Like most of the room, however, they appeared more amused than anything. Corsaic recomposed himself after a moment.

"Unlikely," he said. "Miss Amitola is highly skilled operative, and has not been known to fail on missions of such great import. I daresay that Adam chose exactly the right woman for the job."

"Say what you propose is true, then," said Ghira, and heads throughout the room turned to heed their chieftain. "If Adam Taurus's sole purpose in this venture here was to divide us, then why would he allow us to know about his plans to attack Haven? You said yourself that this, at least, should be believed."

"Simple: arrogance," said Corsaic without missing a beat, his face adopting a mask of distaste with an authenticity that Blake found superb. "His..._successes_ at Vale, if they can be called that, have obviously emboldened him. He wants us to know of his power play. Whether this is to cow us into submission or to inspire young radicals here to take up his cause, we cannot say for certain. But given the evidence we have just discussed, this in no way validates any of these charges against us. We stand by what we have said: these false reports are as much news to us as anyone else in this room."

"And we can all agree that Taurus' planned attack on Haven is dire news indeed," Fennec picked up after his brother. "Which is why we must now stand together against him and his rogue band, instead of pointing fingers and bickering futilely among ourselves."

He grinned widely at Blake, but she saw little friendship in the gesture.

"Miss Belladonna is right to say that the time to act is now. In that spirit, we thereby propose for messengers to be sent to Haven Academy and the city of Mistral to warn them of the coming - "

"That has already been done," Ghira interrupted as he rose from his seat, his patience clearly thinning. "And further plans have been formulated to deal with the situation at hand. These plans I intend to put forward for approval by the Council this very night..._after _a decision has been reached regarding our White Fang Representatives."

"So be it," Fennec said as he bowed, his brother doing likewise. "We humbly submit ourselves to the _Council's_ judgement."

* * *

It was approaching midnight when the heavy double doors of the Belladonna manor burst open with a bang.

"Unbelievable!" roared Ghira as he stormed through.

"Complete and total garbage!" shouted Sun, entering right behind him.

The two men began pacing about the greeting room as they continued their respective, expletive-laden rants. Kali Belladonna, having been awoken by the clamor, walked down the hall in a night robe to stare at the two with tired curiosity. At last, Ghira and Sun simultaneously completed a little semicircle around the room and ended up facing each other. Their immediate reactions were identical:

"We can't let them get away with this!"

So it was when Blake, who had trailed somewhat behind the two on the walk home, finally arrived at the door. Kali, now fully awake and more than a little amused at Ghira and Sun's sudden camaraderie, decided to break the silence.

"Well, well. Look who's finally starting to get along."

The two realized what had just happened, and reverted to their default mode of standing awkwardly apart from each other. Again, Kali broke the now-tangible silence.

"I'm guessing the meeting went well."

"Terrible!" Ghira exclaimed, snapping out of the "I Really Don't Like You" glare he was treating Sun to. "Nothing but lies, and...and - "

"Bullshit!" Sun finished for him, and was surprised to see that Ghira wasn't glaring at him again.

"...Yes, what he said," said Ghira, and he started to build momentum as he continued. "They walked off that podium without a single charge! And then they had the audacity to claim that the evidence we found on the scroll was fake - _fake!_ And the Council believed them!"

"Only just enough of them did," said Blake, not wanting to indict those council members who hadn't believed the Albains. "And they did agree to investigate Corsaic and Fennec."

"Still! It's outrageous..." Ghira said as he sulked off down the hall towards the master bedroom. Kali watched him go.

"Oh, he'll be over it," she said to no one in particular, and turned to her daughter. "So. That bad, huh?"

"...Yeah, it didn't really go our way," Blake conceded, her cat ears folding slightly before straightening out again. "But the Council did approve of our plan. Dad's gonna speak to the people the day after tomorrow."

"Huh, aren't you seeing the half-full side of the glass lately," noted Sun.

"Well, usually I leave that to you," Blake said. "But seeing how you've been so negative tonight, I figured I had to at least try to keep the universe in balance."

A second passed before Sun's neurons aligned and he laughed aloud, and it was a second more when he realized that Blake was laughing too. He took a good look at the grin on her face and was just about knocked off his feet - and not only by surprise. In spite of the sudden flood of thoughts in his brain, he did manage to stammer out:

"Wow, uh...that, uh, looks really good on you, uh..."

"Huh? What does?" Blake asked, looking down at her clothing. As far as she remembered, she had not changed anything with her outfit.

"_Duh_...no, no, that - you're, uh...I mean, it's been awhile since I've seen you, uh...you know..."

"What do you mean? No it hasn't, you've been with me all day." Blake could well guess by now that Sun was trying (and failing) to say something about her, and she had a decent idea of what that might consist of. However, she saw that it would be rather difficult to coax it out of him at this point, and so she had resolved to give up on that and simply toy with him.

"Well - no, I meant that...usually, you can be kinda - I mean, no offense - uh, it's just a nice change - from..." Sun's face was turning redder and redder.

"'I can be kind of' _what_, exactly?" said Blake, pretending to be mildly offended. Her smile cracked through the facade, though she otherwise kept her composure. Sun was too busy panicking and fumbling over his own words to notice.

"No, no, it's not like that, I just - when - _ehhh_..." The poor Faunus decided then that he had dug himself deep enough into his little hole and bolted. Blake had to laugh into her hand. Kali shook her head in mock disappointment.

"You know, if you want that boy to marry you, you're gonna have to at least try to lead him on."

"_Mom! _We're not even dating!"

"Well, that's one more problem we'll just have to fix sooner or later," Kali responded as she walked back down the hallway, relishing in Blake's practically audible eye rolls. As she did, she turned around.

"In all seriousness, though, you do need to get some rest. Your father won't be the only one on that podium, you know."

Blake sighed. "...Yeah, I do know. 'Night, Mom."

"'Night, love."

* * *

Blake was not in any way heeding her mother's advice. Leaning over the edge of one of the manor's several balconies, she pondered over what was to come. So much stood in the way of success: they would be travelling to Mistral with a hodgepodge of not-quite-severely under-equipped militia to face off against not only Adam Taurus and his loyal band of terrorists, but quite possibly the powerful Mistral branch of the White Fang. Even convincing a small number of Menagerie's denizens to risk their lives defending some undeserving humans was in no way guaranteed. After all, in large part, this was a people of old soldiers with long memories. Many had fought in the Faunus wars of decades past, and had no intention of spilling any more blood - especially that of their own kindred.

And then there was the uncertainty of how the humans of Mistral would respond, considering the stigma that yet another band of armed Faunus carried. This unnerved Blake more than even facing Adam again, for good standing with the humans was the entire point of this endeavor. And if that failed -

Blake extricated herself out of her spiraling fit of anxiety. They _had _to succeed. Failure was not an option, and worrying about it was simply one more privilege she could not afford herself.

She looked around the balcony to take her mind off her worries, attuning to the sounds of nature's nocturne: the swaying of wide-leaved branches, the chirping and calling of countless small insects and other small creatures. Looking up, she saw every star in its place, exactly as she remembered from the days of her childhood. Blake almost regretted having dismissed the house guard keeping watch on the balcony; it would certainly have been nice, she thought, to have someone with whom to share such a beautiful Menagerian night -

Blake suddenly turned to face the shadowy figure crouched on the roof, and Gambol Shroud was in her hand in an instant. She wondered if getting her wish would be such a good thing after all.

"Wait!" Ilia Amitola hissed, her hands in the air. "I'm just here to talk."

Blake deduced from her tone that she was being truthful, having known the chameleon Faunus long and well enough. Also telling was that her weapon was nowhere in sight. Still, she kept her blade at the ready.

"Then take off the mask."

Ilia did so, reverting her skin color from nearly black to normal as well. She then hopped off from the roof and landed noiselessly on the railing in a graceful crouch. Blake relaxed a bit more as she saw some of her old friend return - only a bit more, that is.

"So then, Ilia," she asked, allowing wariness to creep into her voice. "What exactly is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, I..." The smaller girl sighed, shaking her head as she unfurled form her crouching position to stand on the balcony alongside her. She caught Blake's unwavering gaze and shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I just missed you. Thought maybe we could just...you know, just sit here and enjoy it while we can. Before things get...bad..."

"You _missed _me?" Blake raised an eyebrow. "Sure had a funny way of saying that. Stabbing my friend, and all."

"Well, you _did _chase after me and attack me."

"Right, after we caught you spying on us...though, I might go so far as to say _stalking._"

"W-well, no, I..." Ilia stuttered at the probably-true accusation, then put herself back together with a sigh. "Look, I - I'm not here to fight, I'm not here to get information or anything - hell, I don't even want to be against you in the first place! I just wanna talk, is all. Doesn't even matter what."

"Mhmm." Blake's grip on Gambol Shroud loosened as she nodded. Ilia's smile was genuine through and through, she saw...and perhaps this small armistice was just what she needed right then.

"So, uh," Ilia began with a shrug. "I'm guessing your monkey friend's still a little salty about last time, huh?"

_What?! How did she - _And then Blake realized: _Duh, of course Ilia was spying on the town hall meeting._ She narrowed her eyes.

"'Salty' would be putting it _very_ lightly. Let's just say you're lucky that he doesn't know you're here."

"Heh...well, if it makes you feel any better, I wasn't trying to kill him - just poke him, give him a nice little shock and put him under for a few. I'm assuming that's what happened?"

"It..._was,_ yes..." Blake put her hand to her chin. While initially scary, Sun's wound had not been very deep at all, she remembered, and had been markedly far from anything vital. She also knew Ilia to be able to poke flies out of the air with her whip...

"I don't really blame him, though," Ilia chuckled. "I mean, if somebody stabbed _me_ in the titty, I'd be kinda pissed at them, too."

Blake kept her eyes narrowed, even as the corner of her mouth curled up at her friend's _bold _choice of words. Ilia seemed to find her cracking grin contagious. The two of them were quiet, and then were stifling their laughter.

"Gods, I shouldn't be laughing at this..." Blake whispered guiltily through the giggling. "I'm such a terrible friend to Sun!"

"You _are_ terrible, Blake - you are just the worst person ever, and you should feel bad!" Ilia poked Blake in sync with the last two words, and their laughter briefly breached the barrier of stealthy conduct - very briefly, before their stealth etiquette kicked in and they quieted down to almost nothing.

"But seriously, though," said Ilia, "I'm glad he wasn't in any real danger. If I'd realized you cared about him as much as you did, I wouldn't have lashed out...and I'm sorry that I did." Blake felt her own features soften involuntarily at this. "But besides that, I also - if I can avoid it, I don't want to...you know..."

Blake nodded wordlessly. This was quite the marked change from when last the two had conversed. Then, Ilia had taken no issue with the prospect of killing - even when it came to other Faunus - so long as justice (or her idea of it) was fulfilled. She didn't know what exactly had happened since then...but she had her suspicions.

They were quiet once again. Leaning against the rail, Ilia slid down to a sitting position and set her gaze to the heavens with a sigh. Blake decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and sat down next to her, setting her blade down on the wooden planks.

"It's beautiful down here," Ilia said, breaking any remaining tension. "The constellations...they're so different than they are up in Solitas."

"I imagine," Blake replied. "You know what that one is?"

Ilia squinted. "Can't say I do..."

"He's the Fox King. He's an old legend of our people, one of the ancestral spirits - "

"Oh!" Blake looked at Ilia, surprised to see the sparkling recognition in her eyes. "Yeah, I've heard of him! Pretty recently, actually; Corsaic and Fennec were telling me about the Fox King - the legend, I mean. He's a deceiving spirit, tricking the proud and foolish into losing their power and wealth." She chuckled. "Pretty fitting, if you ask me. I can see why those two revere him."

"No kidding." For obvious reasons, Blake wasn't as enthusiastic. Ilia seemed to catch on, continuing her upward stare - and then gasped.

"The Grimm Reaper! Gods, it's - it's _huge!_"

Blake looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough, barely scraping the great ringed arm of their galaxy was the curved belt of stars, with the rough shape of a perpendicularly-inclined handle. To a learned eye, it formed the shape of a monstrous, crooked scythe that rivalled the moon itself for dominance of the night sky.

"I can't believe it," her friend went on. "Up north, we could only ever see the end of the handle just above the horizon! I'd heard that it was big, but I never imagined it'd be so...so - " She inhaled, then sighed exultantly, evidently making peace with her inability to find the right adjective. "Just...that image of the silent defender keeping watch against the Grimm and all things evil, ready to tear them apart in a whirlwind of vengeance! Really wakes up the warrior in you, you know?"

But Blake's mind was honed on less nebulous concepts, instead reminiscing on one scythe-wielding warrior in particular...

...whom, along with all the others, she had foolishly abandoned.

"Blake?"

Ilia had, of course, noticed her cat ears folding unhappily. Blake did not meet her concerned gaze.

"You know, you weren't wrong about what you said earlier," she said slowly. "It was a joke, yeah, but...it's true. If there's anything I've learned, it's that I _am _a terrible person. And a terrible friend."

Ilia looked away, nodding thoughtfully. "Well, I guess that means we're in the same boat here."

This surprised Blake. "Really."

"Shocking, I know," her friend scoffed ever-so-slightly. "Me, of all people, admitting that I might possibly have been in the wrong..."

Blake was hit by a sudden epiphany. "You didn't just come here to spend time with me, did you."

"...No, I - "

A kindling of hope - _real _hope - lit up inside of the cat Faunus's heart. _If Ilia was having second thoughts about_ _joining Adam...! _

"Ilia, listen to me," she began with an edge of urgency. "I've been where you are, I know what it's like to realize that - "

"No!" Ilia shot back, a little too loudly; she looked about frantically before she resumed, more quietly this time. "Look, I'm not switching sides, I - that's not why I came..."

Blake picked up the audible lack of conviction. The cat was all but out of the bag; now, she just had to catch it. "It's scary, I know, but I'm not going to leave you on your own. I'll be with you for - "

A pained look contorted Ilia's features - almost as if resisting _temptation_ \- before she suddenly shot to her feet.

"I came here to warn you!" she said, her voice quavering, yet defiant nonetheless. "To warn you that...that you're getting into far more than you realize. I said that things would get bad, but...you honestly have no idea."

She seemed earnestly afraid with those last five words, and Blake was certainly intrigued - but there were more immediate things to discuss. Still clinging to that hopeful kindling, she seized her apparent opportunity:

"If things are getting so bad, then why not try to stop it? We can - "

"Because it's already too late!" Ilia snapped back, then less discernibly as she looked down in lament. "Too late for me..."

"No, Ilia," Blake shook her head. "Stop it, you're only de- "

But Ilia ignored her, hardening her now-red face as she cut her off:

"And even if it wasn't, things have been set in motion that none of us can stop! This is bigger than just the White Fang, Blake...it's bigger than you could possibly imagine. The only thing we can do is go along and make the best of it."

"Make the best of _what?_ Adam's gonna use the White Fang to destabilize Mistral - he'll kill thousands of people, he might even start a _war!_"

Ilia closed her eyes, her skin adopting a green tinge as she hung her head. "I know..."

Blake felt her patience beginning to slip. "Then _why_ \- "

"I already told you _why_, Blake! There's no turning back from Beacon, no turning back from Adam, _no _turning back from having killed in cold blood!" She went from red to yellow to green, and finally to blue as she finished with an anguished expression. "M-my...our path is set," she said, voice on the verge of breaking; but with a breath, she reigned herself in. "There's nothing we have left but to keep moving forward."

Blake shuddered at the inadvertent twisting of another dear friend's words. She struggled to formulate a response, but Ilia hadn't finished.

"That's what I came to warn you about. Nothing can stop what's coming - not you, or your little militia, or Sienna Khan, or even the Atlesian military! If you get in the way, you'll just be another casualty...and I don't want that to happen. I don't want to have to - to..."

She looked away, unable or unwilling to finish the unpleasant thought. Blake could see clearly that argument wouldn't sway her friend...but she knew Ilia well, and argument wasn't all that she had at her disposal.

"You _don't _have to," she said as she drew closer, letting genuine concern and affection into her voice's soft melody. Ilia turned at the sound, and gasped slightly as Blake took her hand in both of hers. "There's _always _a choice, Ilia." Blake slowly raised her hand to her friend's face, watching the pink slowly overtake the brown of her freckles. She saw Ilia's chest rising and falling with increasing intensity as she drew even closer, and went for the cinch: "And I'll be with you, every step of the - "

Her wrist was grabbed and shoved aside by a _bright _red hand. Still breathing heavily, Ilia staggered backwards and shot her an angry glare.

"Don't you _fucking _pretend with me!" she hissed. Her eyes were a furious orange, a strange color scheme indeed with the still-pink freckles. "Or have you _really _changed so much since Vale? Are you _really _promising me something that you'll follow through with?!"

"I..." Blake stuttered, realizing too late her mistake. They both knew what her answer would be. "I'm sorry, Ilia..."

Those orange eyes stared her down for a moment more, then looked away bitterly as Ilia reverted to blue once more. "I know."

And with that, her skin became like the night at her command. She hopped onto the railing without a sound, and then onto the gutter. Blake dejectedly retrieved Gambol Shroud from the ground and made for the door...but as she did, she heard a parting whisper from above:

"Please...stay safe."

Too ashamed to look back up, Blake merely nodded as she stepped through the door.

* * *

Two days later, Ghira was pacing the greeting room once more. This time, however, he was very quiet and concentrated about it as he went over his speech for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Don't tell me you still haven't got it yet," Kali said, strutting up beside him while standing on her toes to try and read it.

"Oh, I do, I do...just going over it one more time..."

"Oh, you've gone over it enough," she responded as she snatched it away from him and started to read it.

"W-Wait, Kali," Ghira exclaimed. "I wasn't finished reading - "

"Why are you so worried if you've got it all memorized?" Kali indulged in her husband's indignant grunts as she read. Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Ghira, what even _is_ this? This is the worst speech I've ever read! Honestly, darling, you'll put them all to sleep."

Ghira had to try a couple times before getting his words out.

"I spent three hours writing that!"

"Well, it _looks _like you spent three minutes on it. Oh, and _speaking_ of three minutes..."

"Oh, shut up. It's not my fault you figured out all my kinks."

Their playful banter continued on, which would have been fine by Sun had he not been present for its entirety. He turned to Blake, hoping desperately to distract himself.

"Uh...Blake! You, uh, doing okay?"

The answer to that was quite complicated. It had been a rough night for Blake after her encounter with Ilia, with most of that having been spent crying her frustration into her pillow. The day after hadn't gone so well either, as her body had tried to compensate for the lack of sleep; this in part had led to a little spat with her mother, though that had thankfully been cleared up later in the evening. Physically, she felt much better now - nothing a little tea couldn't help - but, of course, she was still a bit nervous.

And presently, thanks to her parents, about to die of awkwardness. Oh, no - she was _not_ putting up with that.

"Mom, Dad! Stop! You're freaking out Sun."

Ghira and Kali stopped mid-sentence, and Sun honestly couldn't tell if they had been about to fist-fight or make out. All the same, he whispered his thanks to Blake.

"Oh - ah, yes, erhm...sorry, kids," said Ghira sheepishly.

"What were we talking about again?" Kali asked no one in particular.

"Uh...oh, my speech!" Ghira made a grab for the paper, only to be foiled again by his wife.

"That's right - _that's_ what I was going to say! Ghira, darling: I don't know if you've realized this or not, but your speeches have always been at their best when you make them up as you go. Which is why..." She crumpled up the paper as she spoke. "...you will most certainly _not_ be needing that."

"B-But, Kali...!" Ghira began to protest, and then relented. "Oh, very well. But this had better go as well as you think!"

"Of course it will, Ghira. Blake, Sun: group hug time!"

* * *

"You know, Blake," said Sun as they walked down the streets of Kuo-Kuana. "I don't know if your dad really likes me or really hates me, but man - that guy hugs _hard_!"

"It's both," Blake deadpanned.

"Both? Is that even - "

"Oh, yeah. Guarantee it."

"Huh. Guess I'd better keep that in mind."

A substantial crowd had gathered at the square to hear the chieftain speak. At the mouth of one of the square's smaller alleyways, a podium had been set up for the speakers at hand. It was behind this podium that Ghira, Sun, and Blake stood with a pair of escorting guards, making their final preparations for the event. Ghira took a breath, and stood a little straighter.

"You know, Blake, now that I think of it, I suppose your mother was right. I'm just feeling very confident now; it almost seems like peace between Faunus and humanity isn't hanging in the balance here...Blake?"

No response came, and Ghira immediately felt bad for bringing up the high stakes of the situation. Blake was staring down into space, hands clasped in front of her and ears folded. Ghira put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Blake? Are you alright?"

She tensed slightly at this, prompting Ghira to retract his hand, but then relaxed.

"Huh? Yeah, I mean..." They both knew the answer was a definite no. "Well...what if the people don't get on board? What if they turn against us? You know as well as I do -almost nobody here wants to go to war again." Blake's midnight worries had come spilling out.

"Well, the truth is very often difficult for people to hear," Ghira responded after some careful thought. "And I doubt today will be any different. But right here is a people I am proud to have led for as long as I have. They are good, with a love for justice as well as peace. Today, I am going to put my trust in them. I am as confident that they will make the right choice as I am that you will. And that, I think, should say a lot."

This brought a smile to Blake's face. Ghira turned to leave, and Sun immediately seized the opportunity to redeem himself.

"See, Blake? It does look good on you!"

"Wait - what? Sun, what are you even talking about?"

Sun pulled the corners of his mouth into an exaggerated smile with his fingers. "That!"

He took his fingers out, leaving a very real smile. "It suits you."

"...Oh, Sun," said Blake as she went to hug her silly, silly friend.

As the two embraced, Ghira had just stepped onto the podium. The crowd murmured as he walked towards the stand, then quieted as he tapped the microphone to test it, producing a dull thud through the surrounding speakers. Looking around, Ghira could taste his people's restlessness as they awaited his speech. He would indeed put his trust in them this day, but he was more unsure of how they would respond than he had let on. Looking around, he saw that a few in the crowd had brought their weapons and were carrying them openly, a sight that stirred to excitement the old fighting cat inside of him. Evidently, word of his bold plan had gotten around. It was then that Ghira noticed the flash of multiple scrolls recording the event, and decided that the people had waited long enough.

"My brothers and sisters, I thank you all for assembling here this day," he began gravely. "Times have taken a troubled turn as of late, and it is critical that the people of this island hear the truth. We are all well-acquainted with the terrible events that took place at last year's Vytal Festival, and of the implications they had for the world. Chief among these is that there are dangerous people currently working to undermine the foundations of society as we know it. And while those who orchestrated the Fall of Beacon remain at large, it has been confirmed that Adam Taurus, the leader of a rogue chapter of the White Fang, participated in the attacks. Witnesses, my own daughter among them, have testified that these terrorists - there is no better description - slaughtered civilians in the streets and released creatures of Grimm onto academy grounds."

He let that set in for a moment; the crowd's reaction was properly disconcerted.

"As loathsome as these acts of evil are, there is worse yet to come. Eight nights ago, a spy under Taurus' command was encountered near our home. Though the spy managed to escape, we were able to retrieve her scroll."

He pulled said scroll out from his robe and handed it to a guard, who placed it onto a holo-projector to display its contents for all to see.

"That scroll contained plans of Adam Taurus's to unseat the current High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan, and take control of the entire organization himself. Uncovered as well were plans detailing an attack on Haven Academy and Mistral's CCT tower, scheduled to take place on the last full moon of summer, which will occur in two months."

By the time he finished these words, the crowd was a-mutter with worry. It took Ghira a good ten seconds of an upraised hand to quiet them down to a reasonable level.

"All of this bodes terribly, for the Faunus in particular. Taurus's actions have already served to demonize our race in the eyes of the humans. This will serve nothing but to incite more hate and violence from humanity than ever. Many of us remember what that hate and violence has led to in the past...and we all know the ease with which history repeats itself."

It was as if a heavy wool blanket of solemnity had fallen over the square. Ghira could feel the instinctual tightening of grips on the hilts of old blades.

"Now, plans have been formulated to counteract this catastrophe in the making - plans that some of you are already aware of..."

He nodded to one Faunus who had donned a battle helmet, and smiled when he saw him straighten slightly.

"...But for those of you who aren't, I am going to ask you to bear with me. I have ordered messengers to be sent to Headmaster Lionheart, High Leader Khan, and the government of Mistral with warnings of the threat posed by Taurus. However, I fear that this alone may not be enough to turn the tide in our favor."

He paused before continuing.

"The White Fang was founded for the purpose of achieving justice and equal rights for the Faunus, yes. But it was also meant to bring peace between us and humanity. However, several years ago, many in our ranks became dissatisfied with the progress we had been making and began straying away from the latter goal in favor of achieving the former sooner. It is for this reason that I stepped down as High Leader...a decision that, at times, I have come to regret."

Behind the podium, Blake's ears flattened in shame. It had been more than two years since she had screamed all those terrible things at her parents before running off: _Cowards! Traitors!_ Surely, Ghira was not thinking of that as he spoke...at least, Blake hoped not.

"Since High Leader Sienna Khan assumed control of the White Fang, the rift between Faunus and humanity has sadly widened, despite the increased legal protections given to Faunus. And now, thanks to the efforts of Taurus and others, the White Fang is being twisted into something unrecognizable from what it once was. In the minds of the humans, the White Fang represents nothing more than a hateful, destructive threat to them, their families, and their livelihood...and I am afraid that they now are right to think so. Now...a very wise man once said, 'Evil's greatest triumphs happen when good men forget that injustice _anywhere_ is injustice _everywhere._' My brothers and sisters, we cannot afford to sit back and watch while evil men like Taurus burn our world to the ground! If the wounds between our peoples are ever to be healed, then the White Fang must be restored to its former self."

On cue, the former blue and white banner of the White Fang was displayed on the holo-projector, the wolf's jawline proud and astute. Ghira spoke through the applause.

"As some of you have heard, the Menagerie Council has approved a plan to muster a volunteer militia. Once this is done, the First Menagerian Militia will travel overseas to Mistral...to defend Haven Academy and Sienna Khan at all costs, and to bring Adam Taurus and his followers to justice!"

Those who had brought weapons clanged them together and cheered, along with a number of others...but other than that, the people had gone silent. The enthusiasm was dampened as quickly as it had flared to the White Fang banner. Ghira pushed down the anxiety welling up inside him; as disheartening as this was, they were not done yet.

"My daughter, Blake, is a Huntress, a survivor of the Fall of Beacon, and a former member of the White Fang, as well as the architect of the First Menagerian Militia project. It is with immense pride that I invite her to speak before you, to testify her story and to elaborate further on the plan."

He stepped back from the microphone, and Blake stepped forward. She turned to her father, whose reassuring smile strengthened her. The audience awaited her words -

_"RACE-TRAITORS!"_

A sharp, quasi-operatic countertenor suddenly rung out, followed shortly by a commotion at the edge of the crowd. All eyes darted towards the dozen or so masked, shield-bearing White Fang who had set up a speaking platform of their own: little more than a few crates stacked together. One protester carried a megaphone and was yelling into it, his reptilian tail swaying restlessly.

"The ancient hunting parties...the Anima-Solitas slave trade...the post-war Segregate Codes...the Faunus-War Concords, the Vineyard Square Massacre, the S.D.C. Dust mine laborers! All humanity's crimes against our people lay bare before history's eyes, and the Belladonnas talk of peace and harmony?! _Sell-outs! _Everything they do is to benefit themselves! For years they sat back, _complacent _in their peaceful ways while their so-called 'brothers and sisters' scrape for their meals in the slums of the human kingdoms!"

Blake could scarcely contain her rage. "How dare you! We have done _nothing _but fight for our people's rights - for _your _rights!"

The speaker did not even acknowledge her, instead continuing his tirade. Ghira made for the microphone again, pulling his daughter aside.

"And now that they fear punishment from the humans, they would have us shed our blood to cover their own cowardly tails! And then they are arrogant enough to slander Adam Taurus, the only one who truly fights for our rights, with false accusations! But the White Fang will see through the justice that we deserve - "

"Shut up, fuckwad!" Sun had lunged forward onto the podium, his shout backed by several hearty cheers and weapon-clangs. "All I've ever seen the White Fang do is steal and murder! These guys are nothing but thugs, and they're just as bad as the S.D.C.!"

"People of Menagerie," the speaker cried out again amidst the heightened clamor. "The time has come to choose between justice and freedom, or cowardice and treason! But know that the White Fang _will_ bring about a new dawn for our people - with, without, or in spite of you!"

He finished his sentence just as several of the armed citizens stepped forward to trade shouted insults with the White Fang protestors, injecting a nervous jolt into the crown around them. Some began dispersing, while a number of those who didn't continued recording the debacle with their scrolls. The helmeted Faunus stepped to the forefront, head and wolf tail held high as his comrades parted way.

"Listen here, you filthy lot!" His roar cut through the clamor. "You think the Fang fights for the Faunus?! _I _fought against the evils of human bigotry for every single one of the Revolution's seven years! _I_ have spilled human blood and shed my own on the field of honor so that my people could live in peace and fairness! I made an oath long ago to raise my sword against injustice, and _damned _if I break it while cowardly men like Adam Taurus commit the same crimes of the humans who I fought in my youth!"

Newly invigorated, the other armed citizens began to slowly advance against the White Fang shield wall, yelling and clanging their weapons. The Fang agitators visibly tensed as a few among the crowd hurled rotten fruit at them, and the speaker raised his chin in nervous defiance.

"Race-traitors!" he shouted once more, though his voice lacked its earlier spirit. "These cowards would see their own people slaughtered - "

But he was cut short as a rock sailed from somewhere in the crowd and struck his megaphone, knocking it from his grasp to shatter on the cobblestones. A cry arose from the Fang protestors, and they charged in a poorly-organized line. The armed citizens responded with gusto, forming a tight circle that smashed a hole in the shield wall before pandemonium ensued. The crowd scrambled to get away from the brawl as Ghira ordered his guards to break it up. Sun was about to jump in when he was grabbed by Blake. Her father bellowed into the microphone:

"THERE WILL BE _NO _RIOTS IN THIS SQUARE TODAY!"

The square went silent.

The armed citizens dropped their weapons as the guards rounded them up along with the White Fang. Ghira wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to see Captain Saber Rodentia standing at attention.

"Chieftain, shall we take the rioters into custody for the day?"

"No...no, send them home. All of them. And give them their, ah, belongings back; I think they'll need them later."

"...As you wish, sir."

Ghira looked back towards the now nearly-deserted town square and sighed. He felt Blake's presence as she came up beside him.

"Come on, Dad. Let's go home. It's been a long morning for you."

"Yes...yes, I suppose it has. And it's going to be a long fight."

They walked off the podium and headed back down the alleyway from whence they came. Sun quickly caught up.

"Well, we are Huntsmen" he said, falling in line beside Blake. "The long fight's kinda what we signed up for."

Ghira chuckled and shook his head. "I really don't like you, Sun."

"Oh, yes you do," said Blake.


	4. Haven

**CHAPTER 4:**

**HAVEN**

* * *

"So...anyone know _why _we're taking this random kid with us to Haven?"

Nora had spoken aloud what the rest of RNJR was thinking. For the fifth time. Qrow sighed impatiently.

"I _told _you, Nora: I'll tell you when we meet Lionheart!"

"But the suspense is _killing_ me!"

"No, it's not," said Ren. He shot Qrow an apologetic look. Nora pouted.

"I mean, I'm not complaining or anything - he's a cutie!"

"Nora, please..." said Jaune, interposing himself between her and Oscar as they trekked onward.

The mountainside elevator to Haven Academy had been down for maintenance that day, forcing the now six-strong party to take the more traditional route: the long, winding path up. Thankfully for RNJR, their five some months walking in the wilderness meant that the trail went by relatively quickly. Unfortunately for Oscar, their determined pace meant that he often had to run to keep up with them. Though the former farmhand was by no means a weakling, he also hadn't recently traversed hundreds of miles on foot, nor had he undergone the intense physical conditioning that accompanied a Huntsman's training. Qrow, for his part, had thought about simply flying up to the top - but he was not quite sure that he wanted everyone knowing about his little ability just yet. Besides, he figured, it would be kind of a jerk move to pull on them.

Finally, the party reached the top of the mountain and the vine-choked gates of Haven Academy. The delicate, pink flowers of mountain orchids dotted the gate, belying their strength and weight. Qrow scanned his Huntsman ID at the terminal, and the gates swung open heavily.

Though Haven Academy took up most of the mountaintop, it hardly compared in scale to Beacon. The various buildings and offices were laid about in an orderly manner, and it much more resembled an ordinary Mistralian university than an academy for elite warriors. The party made their way down the central stone pathway, RNJR and Oscar's glances meandering about while Qrow plodded straight along.

"It's, uh...kinda empty," Ruby commented, and Ren nodded in agreement. Haven did indeed seem that way, with only a few other souls wandering about the campus.

"Well, school won't be starting for another two months," said Qrow, drawing a few questioning glances. "From what I heard, Mistral got hit bad enough that they had to push back the school year. Still...I woulda thought there'd be more people here than this..."

"You think something's up?" Jaune asked.

"...I hope not." He took a swig from his flask.

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby began tentatively. Qrow spun around lazily. "Maybe, uh...maybe you shouldn't be drinking that...you know, right before we meet Headmaster Lionheart..."

"_Phbbt - _it'll be fine," said Qrow. "Leo's seen me _waaay_ worse than this. He knows what to expect. Besides, I'm not even tipsy - _whoa!_"

He was suddenly interrupted by a green object whizzing past him, knocking him off balance and whooping merrily as it did so. The object circled around the party a few times before slowing down enough to be recognized as Reese Chloris. Her eyes bulged when she got a good look at the newcomers and she jumped off her hoverboard.

"Hey - I remember you guys!" She stared directly into Ruby's eyes and grinned mischievously. "Ready for a rematch?"

"Uh..." Ruby had barely processed this before Qrow stepped between them.

"Maybe later, kid. We've kinda got some important - "

But Reese ignored him entirely.

"So - what brings you all the way to Haven?"

"Well..." Ruby began. "Long story short, we're here to find information about the Vytal Festival attackers, since they came from Mistral. We figured Headmaster Lionheart would know something about it."

"Well, damn - that's impressive. You've got some fire in you! And - did you _walk_ all the way here? It sure looks like it."

"I mean, we took a boat across the water part," Nora chimed in. "But, yeah, we did. And now, these Thunder Thighs are _thicc!_" She slapped her thighs resoundingly. Her teammates face-palmed.

"And that's why I have this," Reese chortled, shouldering her hoverboard. "By the way, I was kind of suspicious from the start about the, uh...incidents that happened during the finals, so I asked Lionheart about it. He said he suspected one of the saboteurs was causing your teammates to hallucinate, most likely with a Semblance. If, uh, that makes you feel any better..."

RNJR stood silently, contemplating all of this. Ruby spoke up.

"Well, I guess that would prove that Yang wasn't crazy. That's good, I guess."

"But it also means our enemies are more dangerous than we realized," Ren added.

"Doesn't matter," said Jaune grimly. "They'll get what's coming to them, one way or another."

"I like this guy," Reese said as she reactivated her hoverboard and made to hop on. "Well, I'll probably be seeing you arou- "

_"Miss Chloris!" _A voice rang out from across the campus grounds. All heads turned to the door of the campus administration building to see an frustrated, gray-haired man wearing an ornate tailcoat.

"What have I told you about riding your hoverboard on campus grounds?!" The man roared as he strode towards his increasingly nervous student, but then stopped short when he saw her company. His bluster melted away into a wide grin.

"Qrow! you moldy, old drunk," he laughed, and the two embraced heartily. "You're here at last!"

"Good to see you again, Leo," said Qrow.

Lionheart looked past him at the Huntsmen-in-training standing behind him. "And these must be the students you spoke of! Oh, it is good to finally meet you all, so very good," he said, shaking their hands one by one, then bowing respectfully. "I am Professor Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. What, pray, are your names?"

Each student gave their name, but as Ruby was speaking, Lionheart suddenly gasped and did a double take. Taking advantage of the timely distraction, Reese had impishly snuck off elsewhere with her board. Much to Lionheart's annoyance, she was now nowhere to be found.

"Wha - where - umph! That girl..." he sputtered, then yelled out in no particular direction, "You are _not_ off the hook, Miss Chloris!" With a disgruntled sigh, he turned back to Ruby. "I apologize for that. What was your name again, young miss?"

"Ruby Rose!"

"Wonderful - wait. Ruby _Rose_, you said? As in - "

"Yup," said Qrow. "That's Summer's kid. If you couldn't tell."

"Couldn't tell! Hah! Why, she's the very spitting image of her mother! Now that I see it, I should have known at a glance."

"Yeah, I do get that sometimes," Ruby said, feeling a little awkward. Lionheart chuckled.

"Well, I say that, but..."

"But, what?" Qrow asked.

"Well..." Lionheart chuckled some more. "But she sounds _nothing _like Summer!"

This surprised Ruby. "Really! I've never gotten _that _before..."

"You don't say? Surely, you don't remember what..." Lionheart sensed something was off and glanced at Qrow. The Huntsman was shooting him a glare that said, _No. Bad idea. _"Erhm...yes, ah...I'm sure your mother would be most proud were she here today to witness your exploits."

He turned to the rest of the party. "Well - Qrow has told me that we have many important things to discuss here today, and I see no reason for delay. Come along - let's to my office!"

* * *

The headmaster's office much resembled the rest of the Academy: ornate, yet unassuming in stature. Books sat in shelves flanking the double doorway, as well as the central window behind Lionheart's desk. The desk itself was quite a mess, covered in documents parchment and digital. In front of the desk sat a coffee table with a pot, a tea set, and several assorted ceramic mugs. As the party settled in, Lionheart made his way to the table.

"Tea or coffee, anyone?"

They all sat around the table; Qrow took the middle across from Lionheart, with Ruby and Jaune on his right and left sides. Ren and Nora sat closely together on Jaune's end of the table, and Oscar sat on Ruby's side. The Headmaster poured everyone their drinks; Jaune and Ren had jasmine tea, Oscar took his coffee black, and the girls put way too much sugar in theirs. Qrow said he was good in terms of beverages and reached for his flask - then, much to Lionheart's dismay, made to pour the alcoholic concoction into a teacup.

"Qrow! Stop that!" he exclaimed. "They'll taste like vodka for weeks!"

"It's not even vodka," Qrow grumbled as RNJR snickered, and settled for swigging straight from the flask. He swallowed a belch. "Well, not entirely..."

Oscar seemed particularly fascinated in something. "_The tea set_..." he whispered to himself.

"Hmm? What was that, err...Oscar?" said Lionheart, remembering the boy's name.

"Huh? Oh, uh..." But Qrow interjected.

"So, Leo. Let's get down to brass tacks. I noticed the school seemed a bit empty, even for this time of year. Considering what happened at Beacon, and the fact that we have a Relic to protect here, I woulda thought we'd have a few more Huntsmen hanging around. What's up with that?"

The Headmaster seemed confused. "Relic? What on Remnant are you talking about - "

"You can drop the act, Leo. The kids already know about the - "

Lionheart spit his coffee out. "You _told _them? Qrow, are you mad?!"

"Given the circumstances, I figured it was the best thing to do. Besides, I think they deserve to know. They walked across Anima to get here, and all the way they really stuck it out there to help others...even after everything they'd lost." Qrow made a point to nod at Jaune. He received a solemn smile from the young man, and a spontaneous hug from his niece. Lionheart looked over the students, and conceded with a sigh.

"...I suppose you're right, Qrow. I can see that this group has members from both Team RWBY and JNPR, yet neither team is whole." He looked to JNR with sorrowful understanding before turning to Ruby. "I hate to ask, as I fear the worst..."

"Uh, well..." Ruby began, letting go of Qrow. "RWBY's kind of split right now. I know my sister's okay, at least I think so...I know Weiss is in Atlas with her father, for better or worse...and, uh...and I don't know where Blake is. I hope she's okay...and..."

"We lost Pyrrha," Jaune cut through Ruby's trail of silence, and not without effort. "She gave her life fighting the new Fall Maiden."

"Yes...we had known as much of her fate. I am truly sorry for what you have suffered...all of you." Lionheart bowed his head. The room was silent until he spoke again. "But we mustn't let Pyrrha's sacrifice count for nothing. There is still much to be done if we are to succeed against...did you tell them about Salem, too? Yes?" Qrow grunted and nodded. "Good. We don't know when or where Salem will strike next, but I strongly suspect it will be here. Now - "

"You were saying about the Relic?" Qrow asked.

"Yes. I have stationed Team SHDW here at Haven to guard against any outside threats. Their presence might not have been immediately obvious, but they like to keep out of sight. I had wanted to have a second professional team stationed here as well, but the Council wouldn't budge. After the fall of Beacon, panic spread throughout the kingdom, and the Grimm attacks were horrendous. Several border towns fell, and the Huntsmen who survived are still out there, clearing out the Grimm that remain. It could be years before those towns are safe to resettle, if there's anything left. That's why the Council is loathe to have any Huntsmen sitting around at Haven when they could be out fighting Grimm, and why there are hardly any instructors on campus as of now. Other than that, there are a few students around the campus, as you saw with Miss Chloris. The rest of her team is here as well, and I do think they will enjoy your company."

"Hmm. Good call with SHDW," said Qrow. "However, we may need to use them."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Remember how we've been searching for Spring for the last ten years or so?"

Lionheart straightened up excitedly. "You've found her! Ah, finally!"

Qrow didn't share his enthusiasm. "Yeah...but there's a problem. Raven's got her under her wing."

Ruby's eyes widened. "_Raven_...you mean, Yang's mom?"

Qrow sighed, glancing at her. "Yup...that's right, and she's leading a tribe of bandits around northern Anima." He looked back at Lionheart, whose smile had long faded. "And she's been using the Maiden to help with her tribe's raids."

"Oh, dear," said Lionheart. "Are you sure of this?"

Qrow got up from the table and walked towards Lionheart's desk. "I saw a few destroyed villages here and there that had clearly been attacked with magic, and I questioned Raven about it later. Trust me - I know the bitch well enough to figure her out. I've managed to get a general idea on the location of her tribe." He placed his scroll on the desk's holo-projector, displaying a map of Anima with a marked location near the northeastern edge of Lake Matsu. The others had by then stood and gathered round the desk.

"This bodes ill, indeed..." Lionheart closed his eyes in thought. Nora piped up:

"Hold on. If the Spring Maiden's all the way over _there _\- " She pointed at the marker, " - and we're all right _here _\- " She pointed to where Mistral was marked, " - then why are we so worried? I mean, sure, it's bad that they're destroying villages, but what would a bunch of bandits want with Haven?"

"She has a point," Ren added. "Even with the help of a Maiden, it would be foolhardy to attack such a well-fortified city as Mistral. I don't think they would pose any more of a threat than a sizable Grimm horde."

"I thought you said you told them everything," Lionheart said dryly, at which Qrow rolled his eyes. He turned to the students. "Each Maiden possesses the sole power to open the barrier to a certain Relic: Destruction for Summer, Fall for Choice, Winter for Creation, and Spring for Knowledge. We are worried that Salem may find Raven's tribe before we do...and what might happen should she obtain the Relic of Knowledge."

"Which is why we're gonna need Team SHDW if we wanna go and take down Raven and the tribe," said Qrow.

"I was about to address that," Lionheart addressed Qrow. "I had specifically requested that SHDW be kept as a contingent defense for Haven. If I were to then turn around and send them off into the wilderness to dispatch of some mangy bandits, the Council would be furious. They'd take SHDW afterwards and send them to fight the Grimm like all the other Huntsmen, and Haven would be virtually defenseless."

"No, it wouldn't," said Qrow, motioning to the students. "See, Haven just got a bunch of tough-ass reinforcements. These kids here are some of Remnant's finest Huntsmen in the making. We can stay here and hold the fort down for you while SHDW's gone. And, we've got a little surprise."

"Well..." Lionheart thought this over for a moment. He looked worriedly back at his desk, then shook his head. "No. I'm going to have to turn down this plan. In all honesty, I don't like the idea of sending SHDW on such a mission anyway. The tribe itself should be little trouble for them, but Raven Branwen is one of the finest fighters I've ever seen; I'd certainly think twice about pitting any one of SHDW against the likes of her. With both Raven and the Spring Maiden...SHDW might defeat them, but I doubt they'd all come back alive. That would be a loss we can't afford to suffer, and so we simply can't afford to risk it."

"But, we're not just gonna let Salem take Spring, are we?" asked Ruby. "I mean, if Salem gets the Relic - " She gasped as an idea hit her. "Send us! We've gone through the wilderness, we know what it's like. And if you and Qrow come with, too, and maybe ABRN - we might have a chance!"

"Yeah! We can take 'em," said Nora, excited at the prospect of breaking some bandit legs. But Qrow shook his head.

"No, you can't," he said, deflating the young Huntress. "Remember the fight against that Tyrian bastard? He took you kids apart like it was nothing. This would be just like that, except ten times worse. Even with Leo helping, you'd all be slaughtered - no question."

"Yeah, he's right," said Jaune, which surprised his teammates. "I know it hurts to hear it...but if we went up against that Maiden, we'd end up just like Pyrrha. I don't think she'd want that - and I sure don't, either."

"Well, then, what do we do?" said Ruby.

"Train," said Jaune candidly. "Get stronger, stay on our guard, learn more about our enemies if we can. Try to figure out our next move - and Salem's, too."

"A fine plan, Mr. Arc," said Lionheart. "And one I am more than happy to lend a hand in. We shall have to discuss this soon - but, ah, Qrow. I believe you said something about a surprise?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah..." He turned to Oscar, who up until that point had been sitting very quietly. "You ready to show 'em?"

"...Yeah. Uh, gimme a second..." Oscar took a breath and closed his eyes, and he seemed to be concentrating inward. Suddenly, he straightened as if shocked by electricity, and his eyes flashed bright green. This strange episode ended as soon as it had begun...yet when it did, something had changed dramatically. The boy had undergone no physical transformation, and yet an entirely different person stood in his place. His posture, once awkward and hesitant, was now easily the most comfortable in the room; his face was a picture of wizened serenity. As off-putting as this was to the rest of the room, RNJR had still more questions when the boy reached into his spacious pocket and pulled out a very familiar-looking cane. Lionheart's initial confusion, however, was quickly dispelled by this last action.

"O-Ozpin!?" he stammered, seeming to go through multiple succeeding emotive portrayals within a few seconds. "But you - I didn't suspect - I mean, so soon! I - " He stopped, cleared his throat, grinned widely, and shook his old Headmaster's hand. "Oh, Oz...it is good indeed to see you again."

"Likewise, my old friend," said Ozpin; though it was Oscar's voice that spoke, the words were unmistakably those of Beacon's old head.

"I apologize for my initial reaction," Lionheart laughed nervously. "It is a little, ah, disconcerting to see an old companion in an entirely new form. And...well, I mean no offense to Mr. Pine, but I certainly did not suspect him to be your next vessel."

_None taken, I guess,_ Ozpin heard Oscar's voice in his mind. The old headmaster chuckled. "No apology is needed, Leo. After all, it is not every day that this sort of thing happens. Now, about training - "

"Hold on a minute," Nora interrupted, before proceeding to explode out RNJR's collective thoughts in a single word. "_WHAT?!_"

* * *

"So...you were cursed by the brother gods to reincarnate forever until you destroy Salem, and every time you do, your souls kinda..._mush_ together...uh, did I understand that correctly?"

"Yes, I would consider that a relatively accurate description of my current situation, Miss Rose. As of now, Oscar and I share this body, and I can take control if need be. However, as our minds continue to meld together and Oscar grows in skill and wisdom, I will find occasion to do so less and less. Thus, there will come a day when we will be completely merged; Oscar will still be Oscar, but he will also be me, with all my memories and experiences to draw upon." Ozpin looked over his students and smiled warmly. "I know this seems a lot to take in at once, even given the secrets you have already known."

"That's an understatement," said Jaune. "As if the Maidens weren't enough..."

"Well, I will say that the Maidens are a bit of a different story," Ozpin replied. "It is not the consciousness of the Maiden that is passed down in their case, merely their powers; however, these powers are still bound to the soul, which is why we felt it necessary that Miss Nikos's case called for such...drastic measures." He looked down for a second, and then back up at Jaune. "And after hearing of her fate...I feel I must beg your forgiveness. All of you. Your friend and teammate was lost to an old man's schemes and machinations."

RNJR was at a loss until Jaune spoke up again.

"I don't know if I can forgive you for what you did put Pyrrha through...I don't know if I ever will. But I won't let you blame yourself for her death. She chose her path herself that night, knowing she would pay for it at the hands of a monster."

It was Ozpin's turn to sit in silence, thoroughly impressed with his student. Jaune turned to Lionheart.

"Oh - and speaking of said monster...our original reason for coming here was to find information about the Beacon attackers."

"Yes," said Lionheart grimly. "An investigation was made into the infiltrators' transcripts. Everything was found to be false, and I am still furious with myself for not having looked into it sooner...perhaps it all could have been prevented. As for their true origin, we have confirmed that one infiltrator, whom you might have known as Mercury, was the son of a high-profile Sanisean assassin by the name of Marcus Black. The other two, I'm afraid, remain a mystery."

"And do you have any idea where they might be?" asked Ruby.

"We haven't the slightest clue. But even if we did, I would not recommend going after them. These individuals have shown themselves to be highly dangerous, and one of them is now a Maiden. You will need far more training and experience if you hope to match them in battle. Fortunately, in that endeavor you will have the assistance of Qrow, Ozpin, and myself. Now, class technically doesn't start for another two months or so..." Lionheart took on a mischievous smirk. "...but I think we can all agree that desperate times call for desperate measures, no?"

Everyone agreed with that.

"Then it's settled! Class starts the day after tomorrow. I hope you lot are ready for a lot of pain and suffering, because I do so enjoy dishing it out on my students."

"Bring it on!" shouted Nora as she hefted Magnhild into the air, and her teammates cheered with her.

"Remnant's finest, indeed," Lionheart said to Qrow. "I like them already."

"Oh, yeah. They're something else."

"If I may speak," said Ozpin; someone jokingly whispered, "No!", which drew snickers from RNJR. "Thank you, Nora. I would suggest we all get as much rest as we can before our training resumes. I know my new body is certainly feeling it."

"A good persuasion," said Lionheart. "Let's all retire for the day; not that I tire of company, but I must return to my, ah, paperwork..." He looked back somewhat reluctantly at the absolute chaos on top of his desk. "In the meantime - Qrow, I task you with finding any Huntsmen who may be willing to help us with our Spring problem. I will look into that as well. And - "

"I should think it prudent for me to lay low for a while," said Ozpin, anticipating Lionheart's next suggestion.

"Yes, good idea on that. Well - " He clasped his hands together. "I look forward to the weeks ahead. Until later, my friends!"

As the party said their goodbyes and filed out, Lionheart saw Ruby hesitate. "Is something wrong, Miss Rose?"

"I..." She seemed reluctant. "What you said earlier. About my mom. It's just...I'd never heard that before."

"Yes, I was quite surprised to hear that. I hope I didn't embarrass you there!"

"No, but...I actually don't know a whole lot about my mom. Yeah, there's little fragments of memories and images I can kinda make out, but most of what I know came from my dad and Uncle Qrow. And for whatever reason, they just don't like to talk about her."

"Well, I know her loss hit your family very hard. Grief is never an easy matter to discuss."

"Yes, but...it always seemed like they were holding out on me. Like there's something I'm not supposed to know, or something! And I was wondering, uh..."

"Go on."

"I was wondering if you might know what that could be. It seems like you knew her pretty well."

"I did, yes...and I think I may, _but _\- but," Lionheart intoned gently. "That, I believe, ought to be discussed at a later day. What I have to say may trouble you, and you had best put your mind at ease for what is coming."

"...I understand. Thank you, Professor Lionheart."

With that, Ruby left the room, the doors closing behind her.

* * *

Lionheart waited until he heard the outside doors slam shut, and then a few minutes more. All the while, his face twisted from a kindly smile to a brooding, low-browed, grimace.

"Ozpin," he uttered through gritted teeth. He looked down at the ornate tea set the headmaster had given him in years past. With a sudden fury, he roared and flipped the coffee table, smashing the tea set and mugs against the door in a sticky mess of broken pottery.

As he stood there panting, a chirping sounded from his desk, signalling a message from a certain contact of his.

"My, my. Someone's been having a rough day," came the voice of Dr. Arthur Watts.

"Shut your mouth, Arthur."

"Hmm. Salem's going to want to hear about what transpired today. Tomorrow, the usual meeting place?"

"Yes. At two. It seems our plans here may need to accelerate."


	5. The Wounded Dragon, Part I

**CHAPTER 5:**

**THE WOUNDED DRAGON, PART I**

* * *

She_ was in the Jungle. That was all there was, and everything was as it had been, yesterday and always. The people milled about, playing their little games, and she walked among them. She was content - _

_ \- until she heard a horrid screech. She looked up, and there in the high branches of the Jungle of Vines was a great bird, terrible and black with eyes like burning blood, and as big as an elder Nevermore...but it wasn't a Nevermore. She knew this because this bird was selfish and conceited, and the Grimm do not feel those things...how she knew this about the bird, she did not know, but there was no doubt that it was very dangerous._

_ The bird went wherever it pleased throughout the Jungle, and it did and took whatever it desired. Suddenly, __the bird screeched and dove at her to snatch her away. She couldn't move, and was terribly afraid - but then, she heard a snarl. To her side came a golden dragon, young and furious and coiling restlessly. The dragon roared at the bird, who screeched again and flapped away to a nearby perch. She looked at the dragon and saw that it had been wounded in many places, and she was filled with sadness for it. The bird perched on a high branch and spoke loudly:_

_"FLEE, COWER, HIDE, ALL! ABANDON HOPE, FOR THE DAY IS COMING WHEN THE WORLD WILL WITHER AND BURN AWAY!"_

_After it spoke, the bird flew out of sight, leaving her alone with the dragon. While she was thinking about the bird's words, a mighty Wind blew her and the dragon away, outside the Jungle. They saw that the bird had spoken true: the Jungle was being swallowed by a shadow that rolled across the land and sky like a great black parchment scroll. She was faint with fear and clung to her friend the dragon for dear life. The dragon flew away from the shadow, but it was gaining on them, and she knew that this was the End -_

* * *

" - NO!"

Weiss scrambled to her hands and knees, feverishly looking around for signs of the great Shadow from her nightmares. There were none, but that did little to alleviate her fears as she realized her predicament. She was in a cage, covered by a crude tarp. Weiss instinctively reached for Myrtenaster, but the blade was nowhere to be found.

_Damn,_ she thought, though she realized she should have expected as much; it would take an abysmally stupid kidnapper to leave a prisoner with their weapon. However, even without Myrtenaster, Weiss was still far from defenseless. She knew that with a bit of summoning, she would be out of the cage in seconds - but she also knew that such rashness could very well lead to disaster. She remembered her training for situations like this; the first step was to observe, starting with sight. There was not much that could be seen beyond the tarp, but Weiss could at least tell that it was nighttime. That was good; most of her captors were likely asleep, making a potential escape easier. She then listened out for footsteps and voices. To her dismay, she heard both, and they were definitely coming her way. With that ascertained, Weiss settled down onto her knees and allowed herself into a physically and mentally relaxed state, waiting for whoever it was to arrive or pass by.

Weiss began to pick up the more minute sensations around her as her adrenaline died down. She felt the wet grime of dirt on her hands, and rubbed them together to rid herself of the unpleasant feeling. Her pulse thudded heavily - almost painfully - in her temples as it slowed. As she felt around her forehead for the bruise she suspected was there, she noticed something: her hair was down, spilling over her lap and the ground like a dirty, white waterfall. Weiss's hand immediately went to the back of her head where her ornate hairpin normally was...and it was gone. Of course.

She knew she had to do something about this; having her long hair fly all over the place would be extremely detrimental to her fighting style. She tore a long strip from the hem of her travel dress, and set about pulling her hair back to tie it up. It was while she was doing this that a flap in the tarp was thrown to the side, revealing two of her captors standing before her.

The first captor was a young woman in her mid-twenties, with short brown hair. She wore maroon pants, thick travelling boots, and a brown vest over a white shirt with its sleeves torn off. Carried behind her on a mag-lock belt were a pair of large, circular bladed weapons. Most infuriatingly, she held Myrtenaster in her right hand, twirling it about nonchalantly. That, combined with the picture of mild disdain gracing her facial features, all but guaranteed that Weiss would not be getting along with this woman at all.

The second captor, a man, stood a head taller than his comrade and looked to be in his early thirties. He wore an assortment of military gear over ragged workman's wear, a tattered black half-cape, and a dark green bandanna around his mouth and neck. A crossbow was slung on his back, and on his belt rested a case of bolts and a sheathed katana. Weiss couldn't make out the man's disposition past his seemingly perpetual glower and thick, ratty hair, nor was she any less unnerved to see that a steel patch seemed to have been bolted into the left side of his forehead.

"Well. Look's like our little Sleeping Beauty's finally awake," the woman spoke. For some reason, Weiss felt vaguely offended by that remark. And extremely so by the stench wafting in from the two filthy ruffians.

"I demand to know who you are and why you have kidnapped me!" she said with all the authority she could muster. Apparently, it wasn't very much, as the two thugs shared an amused look.

"Who we are, and why we have you here...doesn't matter," the woman said in a mockingly soothing tone as she knelt down to Weiss's level. "All you need to know is that it's in your best interest right now to stay quiet and - "

"We're a tribe of bandits, and we kidnapped you so we could ransom you back to your father," the man half-rasped, half-growled. The woman stood up to glare at him, clearly irritated.

"Zarik!"

"What? She asked nicely," he said dryly. "Besides, she's not going anywhere. We're getting rich off her daddy whether she knows what's up or not."

This relatively sound rationale didn't seem to make the woman any less upset, but she shrugged it off and turned back to Weiss, her voice abruptly hardening.

"Anyway. Don't think we don't know about your little Semblance, Schnee. Try anything funny, and we might just reconsider how much it's worth keeping you around."

"In one piece," the man called Zarik added as he drummed his fingers on the hilt of his blade. Weiss's eyes narrowed defiantly.

"_You_ might want to reconsider imprisoning me in the first place. My sister is an Atlesian Special Operative, currently deployed here in Mistral. If she were to catch wind of this, you'd have the Atlas military to deal with." She looked past the two bandits at the campsite around them, as if assessing the tribe's relative power, before donning a smug smile. "I think we all know who'd lose that fight."

Zarik snorted, and the woman's grin returned.

"Oh, we certainly do," she responded, matching Weiss's confidence. "But here's the thing, kid: Atlas just pulled all their forces out of Anima, in case you've had your head in the dirt. If your big sister ever was here, she's long gone now."

"Damn shame, too," said Zarik, drawing another glare from his counterpart. "I owe Winter Schnee one hell of an ass-slapping."

The woman started saying something to him, but Weiss was too busy with the sudden pit in her stomach to listen to their conversation. If Winter wasn't coming to rescue her - no, that couldn't be right! Surely, these bandits were lying...? She thought back to the conversation between her father and General Ironwood that she had overheard immediately before she left. Ironwood had said something about an imminent lockdown on the kingdom's borders...if that had gone into effect, there certainly would be a recall of Atlesian military personnel. Perhaps it was true, then.

She was on her own now.

Weiss snapped back to attention as she heard an angry spike in the woman's voice:

"I've had enough with your antics. If you cross me like this again - "

"What? You gonna kill me for ruining your little power trips?" Zarik retorted. The woman's hands now rested on her weapons, which he seemed unfazed by as he lowered his voice to a gravelly whisper. "You know what'll happen if you try any of that. I've seen you fight. But if you don't wanna believe me on that, then get this into your head: you're not as indispensable as you'd like to think. So if I were you, I'd cut the shit before Raven cuts you in half."

Weiss couldn't tell if the woman's face was flushed with anger or simply reflecting the red-orange light shed from the torches around the camp; in any case, no response came. Whispering could be heard some meters away; the woman turned around and barked, "Get back to your tents!", and the scampering of feet could be heard. It was then that Weiss began to grasp the situation at hand: these were signs of a power struggle between lieutenants. Clearly, the Zarik thug was trying to undercut whatever authority the woman had - or thought she had - and Weiss could infer that they both fought for the favor of whoever this Raven person was, likely the leader of the tribe. Now, if only Weiss could use this conflict to her advantage...

"Alright...what were we doing again?" said Zarik, tapping the steel patch on his forehead.

"Checking on the prisoner," said the woman. "But now that we're done - "

"Actually," Weiss piped up. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and it seems to me that one 'Raven' is in charge of this whole..._operation_. Is that correct?"

"Yeah. Why?" said Zarik.

"I'd very much like to parlay with her. Some one of my standing should at least be given this courtesy. Besides, we may be able to negotiate something more beneficial to all parties involved."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"For a girl in a cage, you're getting very uppity. If you've been listening at all, you'd know I don't tolerate that sort of thing - not even from a Schnee."

Her gaze swept threateningly to the side, and then back to Weiss.

"My people can get very frustrated at times, you know. Now typically, we refrain from robbing our prey of their dignity...but should you frustrate me enough, I may just forget to hold my underlings' desires in check."

"You wouldn't dare!" said Weiss, anger and panic swelling in her chest - and then she saw a third figure approaching unnoticed from behind the other two.

"You're one to talk to me about daring, girl - "

"Vernal."

The two bandits spun about and snapped to attention. Weiss recognized the newcomer's voice: she was the red woman who found her after she fell from the airship. The woman's hand rested casually on the hilt of a blade in some sort of Dust-sheath. Despite the potential danger, Weiss could hardly help but be happy: she now knew the most unlikable woman's name to be Vernal (a suitably ugly name in her opinion), and she knew the red woman could only be -

"Raven!" Vernal cried. "I - "

"Was only bluffing?" Raven finished for her. "I certainly hope so. You know the rules, Vernal."

"Oh, she was definitely not bluffing," Zarik muttered with little discreetness. Raven preemptively raised her hand in front of Vernal.

"Zarik, you will speak when prompted," she said. "Do not think that I am deaf to your petty squabbles, nor that I will tolerate them. There will be punishment on both ends if they continue...punishment you will not forget. You both have important roles to play in the survival of our tribe, but even you can be disposed of should I find your ability to fulfill your duties is in any way compromised."

The two bandits stared demurely at the ground until Raven dismissed Vernal back to her tent. Weiss was debating whether to address this very dangerous woman when she turned to Zarik.

"Why does our prisoner not have a bucket?"

Weiss's train of thought ground to a halt. A bucket..._oh, brother_.

Zarik stared blankly for a second before speaking: "Oh, yeah, a bucket...forgot about that..."

He went around a corner and returned holding a tin pail by the handle. Weiss instinctively shrunk back as he unlocked the cage door and swung it open with an abominable screech.

"Catch," said Zarik, tossing the bucket her way. She had to duck to avoid the rather large missile, which clattered against the bars on the other side. The bandit laughed as he slammed the door shut and pulled the tarp back down. She heard the two walking away, and was once more alone with her thoughts...

...and a bucket.

Above all, Weiss was not happy.

* * *

It was a dull, rainy day in the city of Mistral, which meant that the earthen streets on the lower levels would soon either be riddled with meter-wide puddles, or simply turned to sludge. Thankfully for the foot traffic taking Braunt's Passage, the former was the case, as getting a little wet was far preferable to getting stuck and losing a boot. Despite the gray skies, most of those who braved the rain still wore the colorful garments Mistral was famous for. It was for this reason that Leonardo Lionheart inwardly lamented having only a drab, gray cloak on hand for clothing that wouldn't immediately reveal his identity and station. In attempting to conceal himself, he had ended up looking rather out of place - almost suspiciously so. Oh, well...at least he was mostly protected from the rain.

Lionheart walked the streets slowly, but with purpose; to his relief, no one seemed to be giving him any odd looks. At last, he reached his destination: a dilapidated, old cafe with its windows smudged into an opaque oblivion - almost too opaque for the dim light inside to shine through them at all. On one of the windowsills sat a lopsided wooden sign with the words "NO FAUNUS" written in now-chipping white paint.

_They put it up again! _he thought with a chuckle, almost glad to have his little ritual waiting for him to complete. Without breaking stride, he pulled the sign down from its perch and let it fall into a puddle with a splat. This had been going on the past few times he had ventured down to the shoddy place, and the owners didn't seem to have any idea who had been knocking down their sign; they had certainly never suspected that he himself was a Faunus.

Lionheart walked inside, which smelled surprisingly pleasant - like coffee. The shop was good for something, at least. He scanned the room under his hood, looking for his contact...there. A tall, thin figure leaned against the right-hand corner or the cafe with a cup in hand, mostly concealed in a brown coat and hood. The two made eye contact for a brief moment before Lionheart passed by, heading towards the door on the opposite end of the building. This door in particular lead to the cafe's restrooms and the general maintenance facilities supporting the entire block. It was these facilities that Lionheart was aiming for, as they seldom saw any visitors; city bureaucracy had always had an unfortunate effect upon the upkeep of public services.

He exited through a second set of doors, shuffling his way through the tight maze of machinery until he found a metal trap door at the end of the corridor, and made his way down the ladder. Here was the more subterranean area, the ceiling mostly comprised of pipes of varying sizes alongside aging light fixtures that provided flickering, orange illumination. After a few minutes of walking along the earthen passage, the headmaster arrived at a large intrusion of granite in the wall that marked where the base of the mountain met with the underground network. Somewhere near the middle lay a crack in that stone large enough for a man to pass through, which Lionheart did. Soon enough, darkness enclosed him, and though his Lion-Faunus heritage meant that his sight was not entirely impaired, it was hard to make out detailed shapes with so little light. At last, he arrived at a small cavern, no more than fifteen feet in any dimension, whose center was occupied by a strange, indiscernible figure. Knowing exactly what he was looking at, Lionheart pulled back his hood and spoke:

"Awaken, foul creature, and contact your master. It is I, Leonardo Lionheart."

A foreboding, dull-red light filled the cavern as the Seer Grimm emerged from its dormancy. The black, soulless sphere dominating what one might think to be a head swirled with color as it began to fulfill its purpose. Lionheart gazed into that sphere with bitter apprehension. _The things I have to do - have had to do! - to save Remnant,_ his train of thought began; it was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming his way. He turned to see none other than Dr. Arthur Watts entering the cavern, and he felt his face instinctively reflect the sour taste in his mouth.

"You know, Leo," said Watts as he removed his night vision glasses, "you could have at least left the trapdoor open for me. So inconsiderate..."

"I like to take precautions," was all Lionheart said in response.

"Oh, come now, Leo...don't you trust me?"

For five long seconds, Lionheart looked Watts in the eye with all the disdain and condescension of a hundred Atlesian Special Operatives.

"No."

Watts chuckled and seemed ready to retort, but just then the swirling colors of the Seer's sphere dissipated; in their place, a pair of eyes like portals straight down to the Abyss stared out from a face as pale as death.

"Leo," said Salem, her expression difficult to read as usual. "I presume you've contacted me for something important."

"I have. Qrow Branwen is here at Haven with several students from Beacon Academy - "

"Qrow?" Salem interrupted him, her eyes narrowing. "So he is alive?"

"Uh, yes, Your Grace...should he not be - ?"

"No matter," she cut him off again. "It is not your concern...though it seems I will have to have a word with Tyrian after this. Tell me, though: is the silver-eyed girl among the students?"

Lionheart paused, fearing what Salem might have planned for Ruby, before answering:

"That's not why I contacted yo- "

"Answer my question, Leo."

"...Yes, Your Grace, she is - " He saw what looked to be predatory satisfaction in those black eyes, and made quick to change the subject. " - but something far more important has happened! They have Ozpin with them. He has reincarnated, and is with them at Haven even now!"

Lionheart felt the tension give way inside him as he saw Salem's interest divert as he had hoped.

"Well, then. They've certainly saved us the trouble of searching for him. It seems our priorities have shifted."

"Indeed," said Lionheart, building momentum as he continued. "I suggest that we capture him as soon as we can, and keep him at your stronghold until the Relic of Choice is found. Once we obtain it, we can finally - "

"Ah, Leo?" Watts interrupted. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh, so there's more to this?" Salem asked, raising an eyebrow. "Indulge me, gentlemen...if you please."

"The pleasure would be mine," said Watts, and Lionheart cursed inwardly. _That damnable pseudo-scientist! What I'd give to shut him up for good..._

"What Leo here neglected to mention is that we now know the location of the Spring Maiden. She is, of all places, with Raven Branwen's tribe of bandits. It seems they've been making a real killing off of her abilities...if you'll mind the pun."

Appearing satisfied, Salem's gaze turned to Lionheart.

"Is this true, Leo?"

"...Yes, it is. I merely did not think it important enough to relay."

Salem did not appear convinced of this lie in the slightest.

"I see."

"Anyhow," Watts went on, "what with this new information, I propose an alternative plan: send a delegation to Raven and partition for her support. If she helps us retrieve the Relic of Knowledge from Haven, we will have everything we need."

"That's assuming Raven is willing to help us," Lionheart was quick to respond. "This I seriously doubt. She's spent the better of two decades making a point to remain neutral in this conflict. At this point, I doubt anything will change her mind."

"Is that so, Leo?" Salem asked. "I seem to recall you describing Raven as...what was it you had said? 'Little more than an intelligent animal, for she now pursues only the basest of urges'...among which fear is perhaps the most potent. By your own words, then, fear applied properly would go a long way in motivating Raven to work for our benefit. Am I making any sense to you, Leo?"

"Well, ah...yes, I see your point, Your Grace...but I don't believe that Arthur's plan is the most prudent course of action - "

"Yes, Leo. You certainly do see my point. In fact, you saw it before I made it, because I know you're too smart to not have. You knew already that Raven might be swayed to our cause, and hoped that I wouldn't notice the flaw in your argument. Unfortunately, you seem to have forgotten just who you are trying to fool: _me_. I have borne witness to the passing of ten thousand generations; I was present when the foundations of this world were first laid; I have consorted with powers whose presence alone would shatter your very being! Don't think that you can play dumb with me, Leo...don't make the mistake of thinking that I can't see right through you. I know you are trying desperately to keep your precious Haven Academy out of harm's way - you so _desperately_ want to keep the blood on your hands to a minimum. So then, Leo, you will now answer my question. Considering everything you have sacrificed to complete your mission - all the death you have caused, all the lies you have told, all the oaths you have broken - would you now back down, knowing that you will then have sullied yourself so...and all for naught? Think about it."

Lionheart knew that she did not mean he was at liberty to ponder this for long, and was prompt to give his dejected answer.

"No...no, I will not back down. I cannot. Too much has been sacrificed."

Salem's smile changed from as one at the precipice of victory to as one having now achieved it.

"Then all is well and good. With Raven's support - for I do not doubt that she will join us - we will converge on Haven and take both Ozpin and the Relic. With the power of two maidens on our side, resistance should be minimal...though it would not go unappreciated if Leo were to minimize that even further."

"Believe me, Your Grace, I will do my utmost in that regard," said Lionheart, and he meant it.

"Watts," Salem continued, "seeing as it was your idea, I task you with heading the delegation to the Branwen tribe. I will, of course, send Cinder and her entourage to accompany you in case things do not go as planned."

"As you wish, Your Grace."

"And Leo. Remember well that I am only helping you because you are helping me. So, should I find your usefulness insufficient to my liking, you and Hazel may then return to considering me the enemy. Take this as your final warning: the fulfillment of my designs comes before all else. You are not to sabotage them in any way, no matter your personal feelings surrounding them. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Your Grace. I understand."

Nothing further came from the Seer; both Salem's image and the ambient red light faded from the creature, returning the cavern to near-total darkness. Lionheart made for the exit when, to his utmost chagrin, Watts broke the silence.

"I have to say, watching her ream you out was the most enjoyable experience I've had all week."

There was a brief pause as Lionheart stopped to turn slightly towards the good doctor.

"You know, Arthur, I could just kill you here and pretend it was Qrow or one of SHDW. I think Salem might actually believe it."

And with that, he continued down walking the exit, with Watts's derisive scoff echoing behind him.

* * *

The quiet of the northern Anima forest was violently disrupted by the buzzing roar of a motorcycle tearing down the dirt path, little more than a flash of black and gold to any who might have seen it go by.

Night had begun to fall when the bike reached a fork in the path, marked by a weathered, wooden post bearing multiple signs. On the one indicating the leftmost path leading down into a wooded valley, the word "BANDITS" had been crudely scribbled over the sign's original inscription of "KUROYIRI".

The motorcyclist exhaled through her closed-face helmet and re-gripped the right handlebar with metal fingers. Revving the engine, she sped towards the valley and into the darkness.


	6. The Wounded Dragon, Part II

**CHAPTER 6:**

**THE WOUNDED DRAGON, PART II**

* * *

It was mid-morning when Yang Xiao Long finally rolled to a stop. She had spotted this pleasant-looking clearing some ways back while going downhill, and had decided that this was the perfect place to rest for a bit. Now, sitting against a tree with Bumblebee propped up beside her, she took her breakfast out of her bag: a couple of meat sticks, a starfruit, and some weird brand of protein shake that had caught her eye.

_Thank goodness for convenience stores in the middle of nowhere_, she though as she bit into the starfruit, which turned out to be very tasty.

It took Yang all of five minutes to finish her meal, after which she thought to get moving again; however, as she reached for her helmet, she paused. If the cashier at the convenience store had spoken right, she should be well into bandit territory by now. She didn't know much about bandits, but she did know that any predator is much more likely to be found on its own terms. If these bandits were like that at all, and she suspected they would be, then the best way to find them would be to let them find her. Besides, the weather was unusually fair this morning; it would do her well to enjoy it while she could. So there she sat, arms behind her head and eyes half-closed, waiting for her quarry.

She did not wait long.

The approaching footsteps were remarkably quiet, though that might have been helped by the already soft terrain. To her right, Yang could see a dirty looking man with a green bandanna coming towards her, a crossbow slung on his back and a sword hanging from his belt. Not even getting up, she turned her head to him with a bored expression on her face and pushed her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose.

"Can I help you?"

By then the man had stopped about five feet away from her, the sunlight reflecting off of something shiny and metal on his forehead.

"Nice bike."

"Thanks."

"Be a shame if someone stole it."

"Yeah, it really would. Not a great life decision, you know?"

She raised her left fist and cocked Ember Celica. The man didn't seem intimidated.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Enlighten me."

"_Heh._ You're in our woods. There's a toll for safe passage though these parts, in case you didn't know. Now, I've always been partial to busty chicks, so I'll make this easy for you. I'll just take all the Lien you got, and I'll let you go on your way with everything else. Give me any trouble, and you'll be walking to wherever you're going...if you still can. How's that sound, hot stuff?"

Yang thought about punching him across the clearing, but thought better of it; if this was one of Raven's people, she would have to at least try to play nice, or things could go badly between her and her mother. Of course, she also wasn't about to put up with the bandit for very much longer. She glared at him.

"You're one of the Branwen tribe, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Then I've got a better idea. I keep all my stuff, you take me to Raven, and I don't break any of your bones. How's that sound, ugly?"

The bandit's laughter rasped like a sword sliding out of its scabbard, the actual sound of which followed as he pulled out his katana.

"Let me rephrase that: _we'll _just be taking all your Lien."

Yang looked about to see three well-camouflaged bandits emerge from the treeline; the biggest of them carried a halberd, another twirled a meteor hammer menacingly, and the third cocked a very heavily modified battle rifle. The head bandit continued:

"And we'll be taking you to Raven, alright. We'll just see if she lets you keep that bike...or your other arm."

As he finished his sentence, the bandit scraped the point of his sword across the ground towards her with the back of the blade facing her, stopping only an arm's length away from her. Yang felt her left arm beginning to tremble at the words, _"__Your other arm"_, and planted in into the ground to stop it as she assumed a crouching position. She removed her glasses and was about to retort, but the bandit spoke first:

"By the way, my name's Zarik."

And before Yang could react, the sword tip flipped up and caught her sunglasses, sending them flying out of her grip. Zarik caught them with his free hand and put them on in one swift, smooth motion before posing vaingloriously.

"And _I_ am a handsome motherfu-"

Unfortunately for Zarik, he never got to finish his self-congratulatory thought, for he had made a terrible mistake: no less than five golden strands of hair had been severed by the upward motion of his blade. Yang saw every one of them floating gently towards the ground; between this indignity and that of having been brushed with the trauma from Beacon, her vision went red. The bandit beheld but a brief glimpse of her fist before it smashed into his face, sending him flying into a tree twenty meters away.

The response from the others was immediate, as Yang knew it would be. She jumped out of the way just in time for a Dust round of some sort to send a layer of bark splintering from the tree behind her, and was beset by the two other melee combatants. Several meteor hammer strikes came in rapid succession, and it took the better half of her concentration to deflect or avoid them. The halberdier charged in with a sweeping blow at her torso, which she easily back-stepped; however, the butt of the weapon came jabbing at her with unexpected speed, conking her on the forehead and knocking her over. Yang gracefully managed the fall with a double back handspring and landed on her feet, but her left arm was then immediately caught by the meteor hammer's chain. Thinking he had her, the halberdier came at her with a mighty overhand blow...and was intercepted by his own companion, whose weapon Yang had grabbed hold of and used to swing him about. She instinctively spun out of the way of another Dust round as the two bandits tumbled into the bush, and saw the gunman running sideways and cocking his weapon furiously. She began to run towards him, dodging rounds as she went, but ended up inadvertently hitting herself in the face with her prosthetic when she was forced to deflect a round with it. Thinking quickly, she dropped to a roll and sent an explosive round from Ember Celica his way. As expected, he went into a dive-roll to dodge, and a second round hit the dirt just where he was about to land. Put succinctly, he went airborne.

Yang turned to see the remaining two combatants running at her, one of them now wielding a pair of hunting daggers in place of his chain weapon. She fired several rounds at them, but they dodged to either side, getting a perfect flank on her.

_Perfect. _

She immediately launched herself backwards and over the knife-wielder with a gravity-Dust round. Once she landed, a smile spread across her face; for the next few seconds, it would be just him and her. Apparently hoping to catch her off-guard, the bandit threw one of his knives at her before making a go for her midsection with the other. Precisely one sidestep, one arm grab, one sweep-kick, and one ground-pound later, Yang was just in time to face the halberdier's latest attempt at bisecting her. She dodged the first strike, the second clipped her defending gauntlet, and she avoided the low-sweeping third with a twisting flip. Again, however, she was surprised at the halberdier's speed as he took the opportunity to land a heavy hit on her mid-air. She managed to deflect the worst of it, though, and with a gravity-Dust round made another short flip backwards to land on her feet. The bandit, understandably oblivious of Yang's now-triggered Semblance, charged at her once more with a triumphant battle cry.

Yang decided that she was done with him for the day. She grabbed her metal arm to brace it and smacked the weapon aside, then grabbed the haft and decked the wielder across the jaw. He spun around at least once, after which she planted a kick straight into his nether regions. The blow sent him to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

To her mild surprise, the bandit then got up halfway, but pointed at her with alarm.

"Holy gods - she's a Huntsman!"

That strained sentence was the last she heard from him before something slammed into her with substantial force. She tumbled to the ground and rolled to her feet to see Zarik, sword in hand and looking none too pleased. Amusingly, he was still wearing her sunglasses, though they were now completely smashed.

"Alright, hot stuff," he growled, tossing the glasses aside. "You're screwed now."

"Sure you don't wanna run, buddy?" Yang retorted, sounding a little more out of breath than she would have liked. "You heard your friend right there."

"_Heh._ I eat Huntsmen for _breakfast_."

Almost before he finished, Zarik launched himself at Yang, who had time only to raise her arms in defense. A dizzying flurry of katana strikes followed; Yang fought the temptation to use her Semblance to completely annihilate her opponent, gauging that he was far too skilled to be overcome by brute force. She resorted to staying on the defensive and waiting for Zarik to make a mistake. Unfortunately for her, the seasoned fighter made none, and despite Yang's best efforts landed several small but irritatingly painful hits on various places: one on the hip, one on the elbow, one on the shin...until anger finally overtook the young Huntress's better judgement and she lunged past his blade, hoping to land a solid hit on him. She missed, of course, and Zarik rewarded her with a taunting laugh and a solid whop on to the side of her head, knocking her backwards. She prepared to launch herself back at him, but then recalled the lessons her father had ingrained in her during his many lessons: _Use your head._ To succumb to emotion was to give control over to the enemy. As Zarik charged forward, she waited until the last second before rocketing herself backwards at an angle.

Now came the fun part. Yang's boots touched on the nearby tree she knew would be there, and she used the momentum to thrust herself further upwards and onto a high branch of another tree. Once there, she performed the same gravity-Dust based maneuver and launched herself back again, now firing explosive fire-Dust rounds Zarik's way. She saw him leap onto a lower branch to dodge them, as she expected, and began leading him on a tree-leaping chase. They went on like this for a hundred meters or so away form the clearing, Yang smirking all the way; she knew he would never be able to keep up, what with her Dust-augmented advantage and the amount of explosive rounds she kept firing at him. Sooner or later, he would tire out or she would nail him at range - and then she did, as a round exploded into the tree he was about to land on and sent him flailing to the ground. As soon as she landed on the next perch, Yang immediately turned round and leapt into the air, preparing to launch herself at him while he was vulnerable...

...and suddenly, something hit Ember Celica. She saw just then that Zarik, still lying on the ground, had somehow managed to pull out his crossbow and fire a magnetic grappling bolt at her. The wire pulled her towards him too quickly for her to grab it, but she was at least going to make something out of this. She balled her prosthetic hand into a fist and maneuvered her body so that Zarik would be pulling a great, big punch towards his face.

Zarik was too smart for that, though, detaching the cable and getting out of the way as a now charged-up Yang smashed her fist into the ground and produced a sizeable shockwave. She wasn't terribly bothered that she had missed, but it did set her off balance as she turned to face her foe...and too late, Yang saw the secondary blade pop out of the pommel as Zarik thrust it up towards her abdomen. Her Aura had not broken yet, thankfully, but the blow did knock the wind out of her and lift her off her feet. The seconds worth of disorienting pain gave Zarik more than enough time to elbow her in the temple and follow up with a powerful katana strike that sent her flying into a tree.

Dazed for a moment, Yang shook the stars out of her vision to see Zarik charge in for the final blow, his blade flourishing confidently...and misleadingly, she realized. He wanted her to overthink his potential angle of attack, thereby stretching thin her defense. Yang instead fell into her trained instinct and simply waited for the attack. It came as a mid-way swipe, and she somersaulted past it. Without missing a beat, Zarik turned 180 degrees to his opponent for another flourishing attack. Yang crouched to avoid the blow and immediately sprang forward, grabbing hold of his sword arm as the flourish swung a little too wide. Once she had it, she turned her whole body counterclockwise, twisting Zarik's forearm with her and towards his waist. The bandit cried out in surprise and discomfort and dropped his sword, finding himself unable to face Yang to make any kind of counterattack. He tried to wriggle out, but there was no escape; Yang held him fast, victorious as the two stood there panting. After the considerable beating she had taken, she found she couldn't resist the temptation to gloat.

"Huntsmen for breakfast, you said? In case you couldn't tell, I am a _Huntress_."

Oh, no. Zarik was _not_ about to let her have the last laugh like that.

"_Heh_...and I - hrrngh! - I eat those...for _dessert!_"

Too late, Yang saw that he had grabbed something from a belt pouch with his free hand. Zarik twisted violently towards her against her iron grip, roaring in pain as something popped audibly in his shoulder, and thrust the object down at her torso. Yang gasped and looked down, her eyes bulging in shock.

It was a crossbow bolt.

The bastard had stuck it in between her cleavage.

Yang could not believe what she was seeing.

"Why, you...you little - _ACKPTH!_"

She didn't even notice Zarik slipping from her grasp, because it was right then that an orange cloud of chemical-scented fog exploded from the bolt, completely engulfing the young woman. Zarik's plan, as subversive as it was, had worked just as intended. He laughed at the spectacle of screaming, coughing rage as he staggered away, then grunted in pain as he realized his right shoulder had been dislocated. With a snarl, he twisted it to pop back into its proper place, and went to retrieve his blade. By the time he had, Yang had gotten the last of the smoke out of her eyes and face, and locked her sight squarely on him. The majority of her person was stained a bright, neon orange; it would have been a comical sight if not for the absolute, unadulterated murder burning red in her eyes.

"_You._"

"That's right, hot stuff. We ain't done yet - "

_Wait a minute. Burning red eyes...?!_

It was Zarik's turn to gasp, the point of his sword lowering to the ground. Neither noticing nor caring about his sudden change in demeanor, Yang blasted herself forward to smash him into smithereens. Zarik narrowly ducked under the heavy attack and, as soon as she turned around, sheathed his sword. Out of the corners of his eyes he noticed his fellow bandits, since recovered from their wallopings, had followed them and were preparing to rejoin the fight.

"Everyone stand down, _now!_" he shouted with an upraised hand. Though obviously confused, his men complied. Equally if not more so confused was Yang, who seemed unsure of what to do next.

"What...?"

"Those eyes..." said Zarik, pointing fearfully at her; she realized then why he no longer wished to fight. "I know those eyes...what the hell is this? What's your name?!"

"Yang Xiao Long."

"_'__Xiao Long'..._" Zarik whispered to himself, and it dawned on him then. "You're Raven's daughter...?!"

"Damn right I am. And you're gonna take me to her."

Yang saw Zarik's left eyelid twitch almost spasmodically against the steel patch on his forehead, and he seemed at a loss for words until he exploded:

_"Why didn't you fucking say that in the FIRST place?!"_

* * *

All across Haven Academy's campus grounds, the sounds of clashing metal and shouting could be heard from the combat building, the largest of them all. On the outside, it looked little more than a very large mess hall. Inside, however...well, it was quite the gymnasium.

The center of the rectangular building was dominated by a primary and secondary sparring arena, the former over twice the size of the latter, and the remaining space was taken up by various training devices. Currently, a good portion of the room's noise was coming from the two combatants on the secondary arena.

"Block! Block - good, keep that shield up - now watch for an opening! Guard your - good, good parry! Now don't let me do all the attacking - _oof! _Excellent, watch your feet - there, good strike! - target _me_, not my weapons - feet - watch for counters - _feet-_"

Lionheart's saber swept Jaune's legs right out from under him, and his buckler knocked his blade out of his hand as he fell. He raised an eyebrow as Jaune got up.

"_Feet_, Mr. Arc, _feet_. Watch them, because they will either save you, or kill you!"

Jaune nodded, panting as he went to get his sword. Lionheart cracked a sideways grin.

"You're not getting tired already, Mr. Arc? I'm an old man, and I'm just getting started!"

Jaune faced him again, Crocea Mors held ready, and smiled back. "So am I."

"Ha-ha! Have at thee, then!"

While the two clashed once more, Jaune's teammates were busy with their own training. In the corner were Qrow and Nora; the latter was working on projectile deflection techniques with Magnhild, aided by the former and a dart-throwing machine.

"Use your weapon's momentum, Nora; remember the Pinwheel. Don't try to _hit_ anything; you wanna create a barrier. Defense, not offense."

Unfortunately, Qrow wasn't nearly as loud of a speaker as Lionheart, and so the majority of his otherwise very useful advice was drowned out by the noise of the room. Thus did Nora's repeated cries of "Ow! Ow! Ow!" further add to the din. Next to them, Bolin Hori and Nadir Shiko were locked in an intense competition with the second device, with Bolin as the deflector. Their hoots and fun-spirited trash talking could be heard echoing across the building.

Across from Jaune and Lionheart on the primary sparring arena (the two of them occupied the secondary), Arslan Altan had taken upon the task of giving Ruby, Oscar, and Reese a basic instruction in hand-to-hand combat. The whole endeavor had in fact been Ruby's idea, who had not forgotten her failures at Mountain Glen and Amity Coliseum...especially not Amity. Oscar, of course, would need to learn the basics if his abilities as a Huntsman were to amount to anything. As for Reese, she had been more or less dragged into the exercises by her team leader. "You _really_ need the practice," Arslan had said to her, which she took to mild offense.

Arslan was extremely methodical in her teaching: she would introduce one drill at a time, guide the trio through it until everyone could do it perfectly enough for her liking, and then leave them to keep doing said drill over and over again while she went to go spar with Lie Ren. These bouts typically lasted a good fifteen minutes or so, giving plenty of time for monotony to set in for the three learners. Once Arslan came back, she would test each one of them without warning to confirm their muscle memory, and then finally move on to the next exercise. It was just then that Arslan had returned to do this, and she suddenly turned to Ruby - who, caught completely by surprise, instinctively shot her foot straight up in the high kick she had just been practicing and struck her instructor square in the face. Equally surprised, Arslan fell on her back and lay there for a second before kipping up to her feet. This was sufficient time for Ruby to realize what had just happened, and her hands went to cover her mouth.

"Good job, kid," said Arslan, visibly impressed. "I actually felt that!"

"Oh, uh, thanks...and, sorry ab-"

"_Don't _ever apologize for doing a good job," the intense young woman cut her off, her finger pointed mere centimetres from her face. "Especially not to the enemy!"

Ruby started to stammer out something, but Arslan had already turned to Oscar, and the words died in her mouth. After she had finished testing her students, she unveiled to them that they were moving on:

"Now that you've all got a grasp on the basics, you're gonna start using them in combat scenarios. Two of you will spar while the other stands to the side. My rules are simple: kick your opponent's ass, do it without your weapons, and do it right. Ruby, Reese - you're first."

Reese was surprisingly good at hand-to-hand combat, Ruby discovered as the board rider sidestepped her cross punch and spun round to box her in the head with a kick. Such was the majority of their spar's substance; she consistently found herself outmatched by Reese, though there were a few times where she was able to take advantage of her opponent's mistakes. Ruby found herself knocked to the ground once more when Arslan finally had her switch places with Oscar. She walked to the side where she would stand for the next couple of minutes in a slight fog of frustration, not really paying much attention to the one-sided match in front of her. It was then that she saw a sweaty, headband-wearing Lie Ren walk up to her. She was about to greet him when she saw a familiar glint in his eyes that meant he had something to say.

"If I may offer some advice?" he said, proving her intuitions right.

"Go for it."

Ren motioned slightly towards Reese, who was in the middle of clobbering Oscar, and lowered his voice.

"Watch closely for when she goes for a kick..."

As he said this, Reese did exactly that. Oscar blocked a kick aimed at his face with upraised arms (that had been one of the drills), but the kick was a feint; Reese exploited the new opening and jabbed a second kick into Oscar's midsection, then tripped him. Ren let a sideways grin creep almost conspiratorially across his face.

"Every time she kicks, her arms drop, leaving her head vulnerable to counterattacks. Watch out for whenever she does that the next time you spar. And remember not to make the same mistake - I saw you do that a couple of times, as well. Another thing you might want to think about implementing in the future: Reese has a sort of natural rhythmic flow that adds to her momentum - see, right there. Though it's a bit more advanced than what you're learning now, I will tell you from personal experience that it is but one part skill and two parts mindset. You can talk to me whenever you feel you're ready to learn."

"Thanks, Ren," said Ruby, just as she was called up to spar with Oscar. She felt a little bad about fighting him, as she undoubtedly had the advantage; she was faster and stronger than him, he had just gotten a good walloping from Reese, and her previous years of Huntsman training meant that it was easier for her to process the monotony of combat drills than it was for him (Ozpin notwithstanding). All that said, she was also feeling very confident in going up against him.

"Ready...GO!"

Ruby immediately started with the same kick she had hit Arslan with, planning to nail Oscar right out of the gate. What she had not anticipated was Oscar beginning with similar swiftness. He launched himself at her to hit her with a cross punch (kind of like Yang would often do, Ruby thought, except much sloppier). Thus did Ruby's plan _almost _work; she hit Oscar square in the gut and knocked the wind out of him in midair, but she did not actually stop his momentum. Luckily, she remembered Ren's advice and brought her arms to her face to block what was left of his punch before he collided with her. They both went tumbling to the floor; Ruby rolled once and was instantly back on her feet, and Oscar brought himself to one knee with some effort. Ruby considered finishing off Oscar with a roundhouse kick, but hesitated briefly, as that seemed just a little _too _mean-

"Go, go! Don't hesitate! Press your advantage!"

Apparently, Arslan did not see it that way. Spurred on by her words, Ruby went in for the kill (well, not really, she thought). Her moment's hesitation, however, had given Oscar just enough time to mount a defense, and with some difficulty he blocked the roundhouse. Ruby was far from done, though. She let the force from his deflection return her left leg to her stance, and right away tried her opening kick with her right (she found she was starting to like that kick). She caught Oscar under the jaw, then went for the inside of his right leg to trip him up. Again, however, Oscar surprised her with his speed. He had recovered from the kick faster than she had anticipated, and shifted to Ruby's left to minimize the impact of her trip attack. He then followed up with a left cross punch just as Ruby was doing the same (the opposite cross punch followed the trip kick in their drills). Ruby saw it coming and batted it aside with her own punch, as it was already headed that way. Unfortunately, she had turned her whole body to the side in doing so, and Oscar boxed her heftily with his right, sending her back several steps.

Ruby regained her balance, her pride smarting more than her face, and looked at her opponent with some measure of bewilderment. Oscar seemed equally as surprised, though he had a slight grin forming involuntarily on his face. Neither of them seemed to notice the sudden pause in the fight until Arslan yelled out:

"Quit staring and keep at it! You've still got over two minutes left!"

Oscar was jolted out of his victorious stupor, and made the mistake of looking at the source of the words. He was subsequently hit by a war-crying flash of red performing a flying kick that Ruby would have called "unorthodox", and that Arslan and Ren and Lionheart and Qrow would have called "bad form". In any case, it worked well enough. Oscar went flying across the sparring floor, somersaulting at least once before finishing with a sprawl. Ruby saw his Aura flicker a forest green, which meant that he would have to sit out until it regenerated. She felt a slight pit in her stomach when she realized what that meant for her.

"Well, he's out," Arslan said, and then louder: "Reese! You're up again."

She turned to Ruby with a stare of pure, monotonal disappointment.

"If I ever see that kick on this floor again, I will personally beat it out of your sorry ass."

Ruby was ninety-eight percent sure that she was not joking. "Got it!"

By then, Reese was beside her. Ruby sighed. This match would not be over so quickly.

* * *

The walk to the bandit camp was quiet, easily to the point of awkwardness. Still, Yang preferred it to the alternative of hearing Zarik mouthing off some more. What little he did say, though, surprised her:

"She might not show it right away, but she's missed you. A lot. Trust me."

Yang did not trust him at all for obvious reasons, but she couldn't help feeling slightly intrigued by that claim, as well as by another thing: the fact that Zarik _knew _of her existence. That predisposed Raven telling him about her...but if that was the case, then _why _would she do that? After all, if she had chosen to completely abandon her life with STRQ, why would she ever bother to bring it back up - especially with someone like Zarik?

Unless, of course...

Yang had begun to wander down the mental rabbit hole of "what-ifs" when she reminded herself of what she had come here for. Even if her mother had in fact wanted to be a part of her life and had been somehow kept from visiting her all this time - which seemed pretty illogical, considering what she knew about her Semblance - she was not here for a family reunion. Raven herself would be a problem for another day.

They went on for some time, with not so much as a peep from her escort. In fact, after having learned who she was, their demeanor had quickly changed from that of brutish ruffians to the most well-mannered gentlemen Yang had ever thought she would see in a pack of bandits. They had all apologized profusely and continuously for attacking her until Zarik made them shut up, for which Yang was grateful; and the big halberdier had even offered to carry Bumblebee for her, which she declined. Most impressive of all was that during the entire journey, which would last an hour or so, not once did any of the bandits check her out, not even discreetly - and Yang had almost a sixth sense when it came to detecting that sort of thing.

At last, the party of five reached a semi-clearing of about two-and-a-half acres, the noonday sun pouring down onto the camp before them. Mostly, it was an array of tents, crates, and carts, all of varying size. Encircling the area was a crude fence of barbed wire roughly seven feet high, and watchtowers could be seen emerging from the tops of the few trees that stood among the camp. There was a buzz of noise and activity from behind the fence; apparently, Zarik's return was of notable import.

"Home sweet home," Zarik muttered before walking ahead to the gate.

"Open up!" he roared, and the wooden double gate swung outward obediently. Zarik led the party into the camp, where he showed Yang a place near the fence to put her bike.

"Yeah, I don't think so," she responded. "I'll just keep it with me."

"I know what you're thinking," said Zarik. "But you better believe me when I say that ain't nobody gonna steal your bike now. Just trust us. Besides, I'm the boss here. We'll set it right over there."

And before Yang could respond, Zarik shouted across the camp:

"_Rasque!_"

Another bandit came running and skidded to a stop in front of them. He wore attire similar to that of Zarik's compatriots and carried a fighting staff.

"You and Meckley take that bike over there and make sure nobody except this woman here touches it. Anyone else tries any of that, you kick their shit in, and make it hurt. Rest of you, follow me."

Rasque and the halberdier, whose name was apparently Meckley, grunted in affirmation and did as ordered. Yang was not at all happy with this arrangement, but she knew she had little choice other than to take Zarik's word for it. Still, she looked behind her to make sure they weren't doing anything tricky. She saw Meckley saying something to Rasque as they stood guard, who exclaimed before they both returned her gaze briefly. She motioned to her eyes and then to them as if to say, _I'm watching you_. The two bandits made a point to avoid eye contact, and their vigilance seemed to take on an almost professional air. Whether this was loyalty or fear at work - or both - Yang could not be sure.

By this time, there was a small crowd of bandits standing to either side of the camp's central pathway. They generally looked as Yang had thought they would: a filthy, rugged bunch in well-worn combat gear strapped over ragged clothing. What she was surprised to see was children; though she could only catch fleeting glimpses through the crowd, it was clear that several of them were running about the campsite. Ultimately, she surmised that there must have been between a hundred-fifty and two hundred bandits within the camp...and every single one of them stank to hell. Zarik apparently noticed her struggling to resist wrinkling her nose.

"It's not usually this bad," she heard him say over the general clamor. "But it's been a solid four months since we've managed to nab any deodorant, and nobody's happy about it."

"Neither am I."

"_Heh._ I bet."

By then, they were about halfway to their apparent destination, a large tent roughly in the center of the encampment. Yang knew that the tent must be Raven's, and felt her heart rate rising as they drew nearer..._she would finally be seeing her mother...the thing she had sought out for all these years, at last within sight - _

Yang snapped herself out of her haze; inwardly, she began to curse herself for falling into that trap, and then relented. It was only natural for those emotions to start welling up now, of all times; still, she had to be on her guard against them. If she let them take over, she might ruin her chances of finding Ruby...and as much as she would like to ream her mother out for abandoning her, that was an outcome she could not allow. She returned to the world around her, allowing its solid reality to douse her disobedient mind like a splash of cold water.

Looking around, Yang noticed that the vast majority of the bandits who weren't starting to hassle Zarik had their attention on her, the men in particular. Attractiveness aside, she could see why this was; she was an outsider being brought into the camp, yet not as a prisoner, which was probably confusing and intriguing for most. An idea occurred to her: she could take her mind off of Raven by finding out what the bandits were saying. She tried to listen in on the conversations around her, though the increasingly heated dialogue between Zarik and his interrogators made that somewhat difficult.

"Would you take a look at..."

"Who is that...?"

"...explains why Zarik's back so early..."

_"How come you back so early..."_

"...kinda tech is that...?"

_"Did you bring back the deodorant?"_

_"Ain't got none, we got sidetracked - "_

"Atlas, I'll bet; you can tell from..."

"...what's with all them orange stains on her...?"

"...probably pissed off Zarik, or..."

_"Whaddaya mean, you ain't got none...?"_

"...could hit that all day..."

"...a new recruit...?"

_"Where's the deodorant?!"_

_"Gimme a damn minute, I'll - "_

"...would be nice, we could definitely use..."

"...she don't really look Atlas, though..."

_"Why ain't you get deodorant?"_

"...wish I had a bust like that..."

_"If you lot would just shut up for _one _\- "_

"...she look almost familiar to you...?"

_"Hey, Zarik - "_

"...worry, Boo, I like yer knockers just how they - "

_"WHERE'S THE FUCKING DEODORANT?!"_

The sudden scream snapped Yang out of her already tenuous concentration, and she looked around annoyedly for the source. Zarik, meanwhile, had finally lost his temper.

"Up my ass!" he yelled back, and the crowd instinctively shrunk backwards a couple of steps. "Now _shut up_, you dumb bitch, or I'll go find a Boarbatusk and feed it your sorry ugly ass!"

"You was supposed to get deodorant," another bandit shouted, to several cries of assent. "Why ain't you _get it?!_"

"As you can _see _here, I found something a bit more _important!" _

Zarik motioned to Yang as he said this, and the protests begun with new intensity before he could get another word in. Yang knew she could probably clear it up with a couple of shots in the air and a dramatic reveal of her identity, but she was almost beginning to enjoy watching the screaming match between Zarik and his fellow thugs. Almost...until one particularly brave, shaggy-haired individual spoke above the rest:

"Since when in the hell does 'Go find some deodorant' mean 'Grab me a whore and call it a week'?! Raven's gonna have your - "

"Oh, that is _it - _" Zarik snarled, and his katana was out in an instant.

Yang did not like the unfortunate bandit's little comment one bit, and was seriously considering letting the him have it. However, Zarik had already bared his sword, so she figured action on her part wouldn't be necessary. Still, she readied her weapons in case things got really messy.

As it turned out, things did not get messy at all, because it was right then that a massive thunderclap ripped through the air and silenced the entire camp. Everyone turned in unison to see a short-haired woman standing several steps in front of Raven's tent, evidently the cause of the thunderclap. She did not look pleased.

"What the hell is going on here?! Are we _trying _to bring a horde of Grimm down on top of this camp?!"

She scanned the scene in front of her for a moment, and then her eyes rested dangerously upon one person.

"_Zarik._ This ruckus stinks of your foolishness. You had best explain yourself."

Before Zarik could say anything, someone shouted out from the crowd once more:

"Damn right it stink! Tell 'er where's the deodorant at!"

"I'll tell you where my _sword's _gonna be at, you miserable little bastards!" Zarik shouted as he whipped around, and the jeers quieted to a grumble.

"Well, Zarik," the woman said, a smile starting to form at the corner of her mouth. "Where _is _the deodorant?"

Yang saw Zarik's left eye twitch again, and she braced herself for another bout of screaming. This time, however, he seemed to catch himself, and he sheathed his sword.

"As I was _trying_ to tell these idiots, we got sidetracked. Something a lot more important came up." He turned to Yang with a gesture. "Tell 'er your name."

She did. The woman's eyes narrowed, then widened. She ran back inside the tent. The camp was a-mutter in the minute or so following. Yang paid no attention this time, though; she knew what was coming next, and was mentally preparing herself for it. She could not allow any sign of weakness to show; no fear, no emotional outbursts, or anything of that sort. Not when her sister's life could be at stake.

At last, even the mutterings of the crowd hushed as the woman stepped through the flaps of the tent once more, followed by a masked warrior in red from whom pure dread radiated. Yang couldn't see her mother's eyes, but she knew that they had locked gazes. She took a breath before addressing her mother -

\- and nothing came out.

It was then that she noticed the tightness in her throat and chest. She realized that she had unconsciously fixated on the fact that after all the time she had spent searching for her mother, she was finally there. It wasn't a dream or an illusion this time, and she wasn't unconscious. Raven was standing right there in front of her, in the flesh -

_Focus_, Yang told herself. She forced herself into a state of semi-relaxation, letting the tightness leave with a shiver through her left arm, and finally spoke:

"Mom-"

"Yang-"

The two women had begun at the same time, unintentionally cutting each other off. Yang, caught off-balance by this, struggled to make her next response. Raven filled the silence.

"Why have you come here?"

It was a reasonable question, yet something about it seemed off to Yang. There was suspicion in Raven's voice, that was certain - but what she found strange was an underlying note of something else. It wasn't fear, nor was it anger, but it was heavy with a sort of expectancy - almost like..._hope?_

All the same, Yang was on the spot now. She was glad she had rehearsed this beforehand -

"Wait," said Raven, before she could get a word out. "Zarik...why is my daughter stained orange?"

At these words, a collective gasp of realization emerged from the crowd, who then began loudly muttering again before Raven silenced them with an upraised hand. Zarik and his men, who up until then had been looking extremely smug, now seemed just as nervous as the others. Yang relished in the sight.

"...Uh, I - see, we didn't know who she was at first - " he started, but Yang seized her opportunity for some sweet payback and cut him off.

"Oh, no. _I'm_ telling this story," she said. "If that's alright?"

"Please, do."

She did just that, with Zarik interjecting things like, "I said I didn't know who she was," and, "That's a lie, she hit first!", and then getting shot down by Raven each time he did. At last, Yang got to her favorite part - or was about to, that is, when Zarik interrupted once more:

"She had me in an arm lock, what the hell was I supposed - "

"For the _last _time, Zarik," Raven growled, "you will speak when prompted. Continue, Yang."

She did, in full detail. At this point, Zarik was fidgeting where he stood, and was starting to turn a shade of red. The other bandits, for their part, responded with a mix of shock and that sort of fearful glee one gets when a compatriot is caught doing something they shouldn't. After Yang finished, Raven shared a glance with the other woman, who seemed to be fully enjoying herself, and then stared at Zarik for several very long seconds with her hand on her sword before finally speaking.

"Come now, Zarik. Is that any way to greet your cousin?"

Yang was too thunderstruck to say anything at this revelation. Zarik spluttered helplessly as laughter and jeers of "Hillbilly! _Reeeee!_" arose from the crowd behind him, his left eye twitching madly.

"_Dammit_, Raven, I didn't know who she _was! _I wouldn't have - "

"_Enough_, Zarik. I believe you. As infuriatingly juvenile as you can be, I have had yet to question your devotion to me and to the tribe since you returned from Atlas. Consider this embarrassment to be punishment enough. Now go do something useful with yourself...in fact, disperse the crowd. My daughter has been kept waiting for long enough."

Zarik, visibly relieved, merely nodded before turning around and yelling at the assembled tribe:

"Alright, then...everyone who's tired of smelling like shit, get ready now, 'cause we're going raiding first thing tomorrow - and we ain't coming back 'till we find enough deodorant to last us a _year!_"

Any trace of ill will towards Zarik seemed to immediately evaporate from the tribe, who cheered and scattered about the camp - a testament to the allure of deodorant. Yang stood there watching him, her mouth agape as she tried to wrap her head around the revelation that this man was, in fact, related to her. When she came to the realization that she actually could not, she mentally dropped the issue and turned to see her mother approaching her. The noise of the camp around them seemed to fade into the background; as far as Yang was aware, it was just the two of them, now standing only six or so feet apart.

"He's not Qrow's, in case you're wondering," said Raven, with a hint of a chuckle. "Actually, he's your second cousin. After our parents were killed by Grimm, we were in our aunt's care for a short time - she was a little younger than you are now - until the tribe found us and took us in. Our aunt came to accept her lot in life like we did, found a man she fancied, and that was that."

That was more than enough information for Yang to take in at once, to say nothing about how Raven could talk about something as horrible as that so casually. And she still had trouble believing that Zarik was her relative. Once again, Raven filled the silence.

"Now, without any further interruption...I had asked why you had come here."

There it was again: that faint twinge of _hope _that Yang was picking up in her mother's voice...but she had a mission, and that came before anything else. Thus, she steeled herself before beginning anew:

"I've come here to ask a favor of you."

"Ask."

Her tone was not at all unfriendly, and even..._welcoming_. Now Yang was even more confused; she seriously wondered if what Zarik had said to her in the woods was true after all. In any case, she wasn't about to question her apparent good fortune.

"My dad told me how your Semblance works. You can open a portal that leads directly to a person you've bonded with. You've made a bond like that with Qrow...and I need you to take me to him."

Raven appeared taken aback by this, if only slightly.

"And why do you need to go to my brother?"

"Because I know that he went to keep watch over my sister. I'm going after her for the same reason. The faster I can get to her, the better the chances are that she'll...that she'll be okay when I find her."

For a while, Raven was silent, leaving Yang unsure of what would happen next. Then, slowly, her hands went to her mask and removed it. Yang felt once more that tightness in her chest and throat as she saw her mother's face for the first time outside of a dream. But what unsettled her the most was her expression. Through the colors of many emotions and unseen thoughts, two words made themselves clear across her hardened face.

They were anger...

...and sorrow.

"I suppose I should have known better than to hope for the best," Yang heard her say to herself, and upon hearing the word "hope", her mind immediately began tumbling over itself as she latched onto it. For a moment, she had no idea what to think or even feel, as she once again found herself considering the possibility of her mother actually wanting her - but that changed quickly, as she once again dismissed those ideas as impossible.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, perhaps a bit more accusingly than she had meant to. Raven looked up at her.

"Yang...there are so many things you need to know. Now, I am..." She seemed to struggle through no small amount of reluctance. "...I am willing to do this for you. But just this once, and on one condition: you listen to what I have to say about this. Are we in agreement?"

"Fine by me. Whatever I have to do to make sure Ruby's safe, I'll do it."

"We'll see about that...because I am going to tell you _everything_."

* * *

Weiss's second day as a captive had started out as poorly as the previous day had gone. The bandits smelled terrible, the food they gave her smelled worse, and all morning there was no shortage of considerate people stopping by to brighten her cage with a lift of the tarp and a few kind words:

"Wanna lift up dat skirt fo' me, Princess? Haw haw haw!"

"Daaaamn, boys, check out that quality Atlas engineering!"

"I love me a taste o' that!"

There were two highlights that morning. The first was when the staff-wielding bandit tasked with guarding her actually did his job and sent one of the offenders packing:

"Shaddup, Earwax! Everyone knows you gayer than Jemmy was, so stop tryna pretend like you ain't!"

Said bandit then proceeded to repeat Earwax's comment about her legs verbatim, and thus the moment was ruined. The second highlight came when another bandit stopped by to give her a...well, whatever it was, it was edible and didn't taste half bad. Weiss did not quite remember what it looked like, as she wolfed it down immediately, but it was definitely some sort of baked item.

"My Boo felt a little bad for you," the bandit explained, "so she made it an' told me to give it to you."

Other than that, it was easily one of the most miserable and humiliating experiences of her life, made worse by the fact that the idiot bandits had even forgotten to bring her water that day.

Then, around noon, the noise of the camp picked up in volume, and her guard made another bandit take his place before running off somewhere. At first, it was merely an increase in chatter, and then people were screaming at each other. From what Weiss could ascertain, Zarik had brought home a prostitute instead of deodorant, and the others were less than amused. (She herself found it both hilarious and disgusting.)

It was right about then that a huge thunderclap shook the camp into silence, and Weiss heard the most unpleasant sound of Vernal's voice. She didn't focus much on what she was saying, though, because she was thinking about the thunderclap that Vernal had presumably produced. It very much unnerved her, because while it was entirely plausible that Vernal's Semblance was some sort of noise projection - and Weiss earnestly hoped that was the case - she could not ignore the possibility that this woman could command the weather. If she could, then all hope of escape was certainly doomed -

"My name is Yang Xiao Long."

_What?_

Weiss could not believe what she had just heard. Yang was _here?! _The elation welling up inside her mixed with the plethora of questions that arose with it. Had Yang been captured, too? If not, then what was she doing here? Surely, she wasn't here to rescue her - she couldn't have possibly known what Weiss had been doing these last several months, could she have? No, that was impossible...and Weiss very much doubted that she was here to join these bandits. Perhaps she was here to fight them...? But she would be hopelessly outnumbered - or maybe she was here to negotiate for something - or, possibly, to ask them to help defend some village from the Grimm! That seemed like a reasonable conclusion, if a very best-case-scenario one...but that still left the question of what Yang was doing so far from home. And there was still the very real possibility that Yang was a prisoner, and so Weiss refrained from calling out to her immediately; she did not want to risk any more trouble for her teammate.

That all changed when she heard Raven refer to Yang as her daughter.

Mind.

_Blown._

It took Weiss a moment to regather her thoughts after that. Once she did, the pieces all fit together: of course, Yang had been searching for her mother! She had told Weiss as much shortly after the dance at Beacon, though the name had gone unmentioned -

She paused her train of thought to listen to Yang tell of her encounter with Zarik in the woods. Weiss decided then that she hated the man just as much as she did Vernal, and was sorely disappointed when Raven let him off easy. So much for the "rules", she thought.

After that, the noise of the camp resumed in full as the bandits began making preparations for a raid. Daring a peek underneath the canvas flap, Weiss saw Yang and Raven standing close together, and decided that right then was the moment to act. She tried to call out Yang's name, but all that came out of her parched throat was a hoarse, barely audible croak that sounded more like Zarik than her. Weiss cringed at the sound, then cleared her throat and tried again, with similar results. She cursed, then went over to her guard.

"Could I get some -"

"Shut yer trap, girlie," the one-eyed bandit snarled. "An' I better not hear you bitchin' again, y'hear?"

Infuriated, Weiss went back to her place of observation and lifted the flap once more. To her utter dismay, she saw Raven and Yang walking towards a tent. Desperate, she cried out a third time, but still, nothing much came out. The two women disappeared from sight. Weiss's hopes briefly sank before she realized that she had one last option at her disposal. It might anger Raven, she knew...but if she could get Yang's attention, then she just might be able to convince her mother to let her go.

It was decided, then. She had no other choice.

She began the Summoning Glyph on the earthen floor.

* * *

Zarik was in a good mood. He had, first and foremost, just avoided a heap of trouble with his extremely dangerous older cousin, the consequences of which he understood all too well. On top of that, he had just begun making plans for a huge raid to take on Higanbana, a town of respectable distance that had never fallen to bandits before; however, its capture would yield not only a massive windfall of loot (and, of course, deodorant), but would also mean fully regaining the fearsome reputation the tribe had once had under Raven's predecessor. If Zarik could pull that off, he would all but secure the status of the chieftain's heir-apparent (provided that Yang decided not to join the tribe), and so he was brimming with excitement. The best part of his day by far, however, was happening presently. That was because he was in the midst of his third most favorite activity: yelling at his fellow bandits.

"Faster, you stinkin' varmints! Get moving, we ain't got all day! You, Pork - get to stockin' them little wagons with provisions, and don't you dare forget the cabbages again or I'll shove 'em all up your ass! You heard me - _hey! _Kyle, you bozo, what're you doin' with that? We don't need that, now put it back and go do something useful - _you_ figure it out, dammit!"

There were no hard feelings among Zarik's inferiors, though, because they knew him well enough to tell the difference between when he was actually angry, and when he was going about his own way of showing some measure of affection for his motley crew of outlaws. In this case, it was the latter.

And then the massive glowing robot monster thing with the giant-ass sword, whatever the hell it was, exploded out of the prisoner's tent. Zarik's good mood ended abruptly.

"Son of a - _VERNAL!_"

The bandits immediately scattered away from the twenty-five-foot tall menace, which began stomping its way towards Raven's tent. Zarik blanched at the thought of what Raven would do to him if that thing ruined her long-awaited meeting with her daughter - or worse, if it did Yang any harm. He had to stop it, with or without his magic artillery backup.

"Everyone grab your weapons and take down the prisoner, _now!_" he shouted as he dashed up beside the summoned creature. He saw that his gunman, Embers, had done the same across from him, getting a flank on the creature and pumping Fire-Dust rounds in the Heiress's direction. Unfortunately, she had managed to relieve some poor sap of his blade amidst the confusion, and used it to deflect the few rounds that got past her towering guardian. Zarik felt a little bad about the relief washing over him when the Heiress had her monster change direction to charge Embers. Only a little bad, though, because the expression on Embers's face right before the creature sent him flying clear out of the camp with the flat of its blade was completely priceless. In any case, he saw his opportunity and made a beeline for the prisoner - and just narrowly avoided a tremendous swing from her golem's blade, whereupon he noted that it was far faster than he had anticipated. He would have to distract it and deal with it himself while - _yes! _He saw that Vernal had finally leapt into the fray with her circle-blade-gun-things (he could never remember what she called them) and seemed to have the Heiress under control.

The creature turned its attention to Vernal and brought its huge sword down at her; she hurled one of her blades at the Heiress, knocking her back a dozen or so meters, and then stretched out her hand towards the creature. A flash of lightning tore downwards from the sky, striking and destroying the weapon as the Heiress accumulated several assailants. The giant armor thing started running towards its ward, and Zarik knew that it was now or never. He fired a grappling hook from his crossbow, latching onto one of the creature's back plates. With a running start, he swung up and over in a graceful flip and landed on its shoulder. He was about to ram his katana through its eye aperture, but the creature grabbed him. Zarik would later grudgingly concede to Vernal that had she not hurled her other blade thingie and severed the creature's arm at the elbow, it would definitely have squeezed the juices out of him. All the same, he was free, and hurled his own sword to land a perfect hit right through the "eyes". The blow proved fatal.

As the monster disintegrated, Zarik dropped to the ground in a roll, and caught his falling katana. He was about to rush the Heiress, but just then, his lackey Grant disarmed her with a well-placed meteor hammer strike, and then it was all over. Zarik laughed as she was dog-piled by at least twenty angry bandits. He strode up to the scene while Vernal went to notify Raven, chuckling to himself once more as one bandit staggered away, clutching his crotch before falling over. Even unarmed, the physical abilities of those with Aura were not to be underestimated, especially Auras as advanced as the Schnee's undoubtedly was. At last, Zarik reached the brawl.

"Alright, alright, you got her, good job, whoop-dee-doo," he projected as he shoved or tossed aside those who failed to get out of his way fast enough. He then began the most enjoyable task of clobbering his way through the melee (his second favorite activity) to get at the princess, who was hoarsely shouting something (it sounded like someone's name, Zarik thought) as she tried to fight off the bandits. "Now get outta my way, you little cocksuckers, I'm taking it from here - move it, Darby! - I said get offa her! Beat it, you half-witted little - _hey!_"

He saw right then that one of the bandits had gotten quite carried away in "restraining" the prisoner, and in a manner that could not go unpunished. With hardly anyone else left fighting, she managed to plant an elbow into his face and shove him back - right into Zarik, whose fist smashed into his jaw and sent a tooth flying a good ten feet away. He then stomped the Heiress's face into the dirt before she could try anything else, yanked her up by the hair with much protest, and secured her in an arm lock (one he had recently learned that day). His attention, however, was on the bandit he had just socked to the ground.

"Are you stupid?! Don't you know the rules about messing with - "

But then he recognized the offending bandit as he scrabbled up to his feet - in fact, one particular individual whom he had nearly cut to pieces not ten minutes ago had Vernal not intervened with a thunderclap. A smile spread unseen behind his bandanna.

"_Earwax. _Well, it's about damn time you screwed up big, 'cause you've been a pain in my ass since day one - and now, you've pissed me off for the _last -_ "

He suddenly noticed that Raven and Yang had finally arrived on the scene, and just about soiled himself. Thinking quickly, he said the first thing that came to mind that he thought might placate the masked bandit queen's presumed anger:

"Uh...I got her."

_"Weiss?!" _

It had been hardly a minute spent inside Raven's tent when the sounds of combat broke out in the camp and Vernal had rushed outside, Raven soon following. Yang had initially elected to remain inside the tent, as she had had enough of fighting and banditry for one day, but curiosity eventually got the better of her and she also went outside. Once there, she saw what looked to be a huge brawl as she accompanied her mother; it was only when Zarik finally broke up the fiasco (and Yang had to admit, it was kind of funny watching him do it) that she got a good look at its source. By this time, they had arrived at the scene, and Yang finally recognized the filthy mess in Zarik's grasp as her friend and teammate. As soon as she had gotten over the surprise, she cried out in anger and made to lunge forward and pummel her captor, but Raven seized her by the shoulder. Yang would have paid this no heed whatsoever if not for the fact that her mother's grip was like steel. Instead, she stared her mother down, her eyes full of red fury.

_"What did you do to her?" _she growled, her voice lowering dangerously.

"You know this girl?" Raven asked, not intimidated in the least.

"Yes! She's my friend, and if you hurt her - "

Raven held up her hand to silence her. She initially thought about sending Yang back to the tent so as to avoid any trouble, but a thought then occurred to her. Considering Yang's unfortunate upbringing and her inherited stubbornness (which in and of itself she was secretly proud to see in her daughter), she knew that the chances of changing her mind about everything she knew and believed would already be slim. If Raven were to then punish this girl that Yang clearly cared about, it would torpedo those chances for good...but a gesture of goodwill, on the other hand, could go a very long way to improving them.

"Zarik." She saw her little cousin fidget, and she suppressed the urge to chuckle. "You and Vernal have done well today. Perhaps a reward is in order when my business with my daughter is finished. Now, release the prisoner."

Relief, then surprise flitted across Zarik's face before he obeyed. Weiss fell to her knees, exhaustion taking hold. Again, Raven stopped Yang from rushing forward, and approached the Heiress herself. On her face was a pitiable portrait of terror, anger, and humiliation, seen through a layer of tear-streaked grime.

"Get up," she commanded, then pulled Weiss to her feet by the arm. She then lightly lifted Weiss's head by the chin to look straight up at her. While the gesture might have seemed gently authoritative, Weiss felt no subtlety in the message that the hard, coiled strength of those fingers sent: Raven could snap her into pieces with very little effort.

"You have made quite a mess in my camp today, to say nothing of the danger you put my people in," she began in a low voice, not intending for Yang to hear any of this. "I ought to have the skin flayed off your back for all the trouble you've caused. But for my daughter's sake, I have decided in favor of mercy. Keep that very well in mind the next time you think to cross me in such a way."

Raven then released her, and produced a red cloth from her belt pouch.

"Tie your hair with this," she said as she handed it to her, a little more gently this time. Weiss complied, and when she was done, Raven addressed the tribe at full volume.

"The Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company is no longer our prisoner, but an honored guest. As a friend of my daughter's, she will be treated as such."

The surrounding tribe let out a semi-collective gasp, but the subsequent murmurings fell silent as Raven spoke again, this time addressing Weiss.

"Now. Prisoner or not, I trust that none of my men mishandled you in any way?"

Weiss was too awash with relief, fear, and exhaustion to respond immediately, and so the question was answered by a vengeful and opportunistic Zarik.

"I thought you'd never ask." He turned to see Earwax trying to slink away. "Grant! Get 'im!"

The shaggy-haired bandit bolted, but the head of Grant's meteor hammer quickly wrapped around his leg and tripped him up, and he was dragged back with no shortage of protest.

"No, no, no, wait - I didn't do it, I swear, I - "

"Shut yer trap," Zarik growled as he grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and then threw him to the ground before Raven. "To this here sack o' shit, 'take down the prisoner' apparently means 'grab me a pair and have me some fun'! Good thing _I _stopped him before he could do anything worse. Ain't that right, Princess?"

Weiss nodded blankly, too overwhelmed by the day's events to do anything else. Raven hand dropped to Omen's handle, and Earwax began visibly panicking.

"Wait - no, I - that's a lie! It wasn't me, it couldn't have been me because I, uh - because I'm gay!" the bandit's lie sputtered out. "Extremely gay! And, uh - everyone knows _that_, right?"

Nobody said anything. The truth was that the other bandits just liked to call Earwax gay to make him mad, because they knew that Zarik hated him. Any other day they would have happily gone along with his "confession" with no shortage of mockery, but now? That was just a very bad idea.

"I have heard enough," said Raven, her displeasure radiating through her mask. "It seems that we will need another reminder as to the rules of this tribe."

With that, she flipped a switch on Omen's scabbard, infusing it with fire-Dust; she was not in the mood for cleaning blood off of her blade that day.

The last thing Earwax saw before he was decapitated was the wicked grin in Zarik's eyes.

The crowd went silent for a long moment; it was far from the first time this had happened, of course, and they had all had a pretty good idea of what was coming. Still, the tremendous speed and violence of their chieftain was a terrifying reminder to the consequences of defying her will, even if the victim was as unpopular as this one. Yang herself, despite having been ready to throttle the fool herself only moments ago, felt more disturbed and afraid than vindicated; she quickly grabbed her left arm before it could start trembling too violently. Weiss would later remember this event with a similar horror, as the thunk of a human head hitting the ground is always an unsettling sound. As it was, she was too drained to feel anything aside from the relief that she would not be ending her days within the walls of this camp.

Raven sheathed her sword.

"Dispose of the corpse," she commanded, "then return to your business."

With that, she beckoned Vernal, Yang, and Weiss accompany her back to her dwelling, leaving Zarik to supervise the tribe.

"Alright, you drippy lot, show's over," he projected. "Now get back to work, we got a raid tomorrow! Peewee, Tungsten, lucky you - you two're on corpse duty. Get that shit outta here and buried...eh?

As the bandits dispersed to obey, Zarik saw a familiar figure stumble back into the campsite through the gateway, his entire person covered in dirt, leaves, and twigs.

"Embers!" he shouted. "Get your ass over here!"

His lackey complied, looking somewhat dazed.

"What the hell is it with you and airtime today?"

Embers shrugged. "Shitty luck. I swear, boss, Qrow's comin' back to screw with me or somethin'. Thank goodness for Aura, though..." His gaze wandered over to Raven's entourage, and specifically Weiss. "...Did I miss something?"

"Eh, not much. Looks like those fancy Atlesian upgrades on your gun are gonna be awhile, though. Also, Earwax finally bit it."

"'Bout damn time."

"You want some whiskey?"

"Hell yeah."

* * *

The tent's interior, unsurprisingly, was mostly in various shades of red, illuminated by the glow of a Dust lantern hanging from the ceiling. Though not extravagant by any objective standard, it certainly appeared so in comparison with the rest of the camp. It smelled of some sort of incense - a frothy, bittersweet smokiness. There were two flaps opposite the entrance leading to other sections of the shelter, presumably Raven and Vernal's sleeping quarters. To each side of the tent, there was a neatly organized cache of weapons and pieces of armor or gear. In the center of this "living room" sat a low table.

It would be some time before Weiss got around to taking all this in; at the moment, the only thing that she noticed was that Yang was right there. After months spent living in stifling loneliness in that "home" of hers, then getting captured and suffering at the hands of bandits...to suddenly be in the presence of one of her dear friends made her even forget how thirsty she was. Weiss absolutely broke down and more or less fell into Yang's arms in a great, sobbing heap. Yang just held her. They sat like that for a few minutes before Weiss finally muffled out:

"I missed you, so much..."

With that, the two finally relaxed from their embrace and got a good look at each other.

Weiss was an absolute _mess_, Yang noticed. Her skirt was torn in several places, her formerly white hair was a tangled disaster, and she generally looked as if she had been rolling around in the dirt. More than anything, Yang wanted to know how in the world she had ended up in Raven's clutches, and of what she had been doing all this time. She put those questions aside, however, because Weiss had apparently just realized the nature of her prosthetic. She clasped the hand with both of hers, fully looking it over.

"You...you got a..."

"Yeah, I did. Ironwood sent it."

Weiss smiled at the General's name; it was good to know that he still had Team RWBY's back, even despite the alarming changes she had begun to see in him. And speaking of change...there was something different about Yang, besides the fact that she was stained orange all over. Weiss could remember the fiery spark of gung-ho joviality in her friend's purple eyes from their days at Beacon. After the school fell, though, she had been allowed to visit her and Blake in the hospital for a brief goodbye before she was taken away. That spark had been completely extinguished, and it had crushed Weiss to have had to leave her there. Now, it seemed to have been replaced by something else...something more serious, more adult. Weiss was not exactly sure what to think of this, but she was very glad that Yang had at least appeared to have recovered from her trauma. Then Yang pointed down at Weiss's skirt.

"Ooh, sorry, um..." she said sheepishly. "I, uh, might've got a little something on your..."

Weiss looked down. Her entire front was covered in the orange stuff. She shrugged in humorous resignation.

"Well'p."

The bottled laughter burst out of the two of them, lasting a good minute before they calmed down again. For that one minute, it was almost like Beacon had never fallen. Yang finally pulled herself together and asked what she had been meaning to:

"How did you end up _here?_"

Weiss then saw her glance move suspiciously to Raven, who had since removed her mask and re-seated herself across from them. It seemed that Yang was about to say something else when Vernal arrived with tea, setting it on the table. Raven bid the girls help themselves, which the parched Weiss wasted no time in doing, despite the less-than-friendly looks Vernal was sending her way as she exited the tent. Between sips of tea, she gave Yang her account of the last several months; however, she only went over the barest details of her capture and imprisonment, not wanting to anger either Yang or Raven into a conflict. It seemed to work well enough, especially what with her epic regalement of how she destroyed the Queen Lancer, but Weiss shifted the focus of the conversation just to be safe:

"So - what are _you _doing here?"

"I'm here to find Ruby, and my mom can take us to her."

"What? Why? Is she in danger?!"

Yang sighed. "I hope not. She ran off with the rest of JNPR several months back; they were going to Haven to find out more about the Vytal Festival attackers. I...well, let's just say I had a lot to deal with back at home." She clenched and unclenched her robotic fist. "But I think I've gotten over it now...maybe. And I...I don't think we parted ways on the right note. I just hope she'll be able to forgive me for how I shut her out."

Weiss nodded. "Knowing Ruby, she probably will."

"Maybe. Either way, I need to get to her, and my mom has the quickest possible way to get to her..._but_, before she helps us, we have to listen to what she has to say."

"That is correct," said Raven. "I can't rightly send you out into the fray without telling you the truth, especially if you're going anywhere near my brother. However, before I say anything else...there is something that I need you need to know. You listen now, very carefully."

She said this last sentence with utmost gravity, as if entrusting Yang with something extremely dangerous, and her stare matched that intensity.

Then, ever so slightly, that stare softened.

"I love you, Yang. I always have. Whatever your father and uncle may have told you about me...you are my daughter nevertheless, and you are my family. And I will treasure you as such. Know this well."

For a long time, Yang just sat there, staring half at her mother, and half at nothing at all. Weiss might have described her expression as one of shock, possibly indignation; had she seen into her friend's mind, she would have instead seen turmoil.

Beginning from Zarik's first suggestion of Raven's affection towards her and continuing up until this point, there were two dominant forces that had set upon each other in Yang's consciousness, with the conflict slowly brewing from quiet and sporadic to all-consuming. One was the twisted mangle of anger and hurt stemming from, among other things, the knowledge that her own mother had evidently not seen her as worth the trouble of staying around; it was this that Yang had had to actively fight against throughout the day, keeping watch over it as if it were a coiled dragon ready to strike beyond the limits of her control. So far, she had been able to manage this; now, however, the dragon was faced with something it did not understand...something that did not cut its wounds, but rather, _mocked _them.

_As if they didn't matter - that she ought to just forget about them, even as they bled!_

And thus did its fury rebound with a strength like never before. The other major force was an unlikely alliance between her better judgement that yet had her mission in mind, and a much smaller part of her that had wanted to break down into tears upon hearing those first four words of Raven's declaration. It was that small part alone that sought nothing more than some balm for the wounds done to her heart, much like a child will seek simple comfort from an injury; it was this need that the dragon of fire and anger could not bring itself to understand, and so lashed out in defiance of it. So it was for the next thirty seconds as Raven awaited some response from her daughter: the adult that Yang aspired to be and the little girl that she could never truly leave behind in herself, pitted against the snarling, raging dragon whose breath burned hot like the blood spilling from its wounds.

Yang looked down, deep into this conflict, and her gaze landed upon her prosthetic...

_That symbol of all that had been torn away from her, that scar crowning her greatest wound._

...and the dragon nearly won.

Very nearly, but for the thought of Ruby in mortal peril.

Though its destructive wrath was quelled once again, Yang found herself not quite unable to filter the potent emotional cocktail bubbling up from both it and the child that was her, and so when she spoke at last, it was with a quavering anger.

"Y-you...then _why?! _Why did you just _leave _us like that?! To just..._disappear _out of our lives without a trace - _w__hy?!_"

"Is that what your father told you?" said Raven. "That I just up and disappeared without warning?"

"...What? Well, I..." Yang recollected her thoughts and memories, calming somewhat as she did. "...I don't think he said that specifically, though he never said much about it at all. But he did say that it was _you _who tore their team apart."

"Really!" Raven scoffed. "That's odd, because if I recall correctly, I had very much wanted to keep our team together."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's start from the beginning, then," said Raven. "Qrow and I were raised by the Branwen tribe after our parents' deaths, as I had said. Now, we were sent to attend Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen, as they were the only ones besides the Grimm who consistently interfered with our raids. We certainly found that knowledge during our time there...but, we also found our teammates."

She had taken on a wistful expression; one might have said it looked as if her head was in the clouds.

"It was a rough start, of course, but we - I - came to love them like I never thought I would. They were almost like...family. I'm sure you would understand something of what I'm talking about," she said, nodding to both Yang and Weiss (but mostly Yang, of course). "Summer was, well..." She gave a chuckle that almost sounded like a sob. "She had a pretty ridiculous view of the world, putting it lightly, but she was also kind and loyal...she became like a sister to me. And Tai was just this great, big oaf, but I - well, you probably know where this is going."

"Yeah, no need for details."

Raven chuckled. "I will say that he took me completely by surprise. And not just him, but...STRQ, all of it. And I loved them. So much, in fact, that when the time came for Qrow and I to leave Beacon, I offered Tai and Summer the chance to come back to the tribe with us...the chance to be our family."

The cloud of nostalgia drifted away as she said these words, and was replaced by something bitterer.

"But...they refused. They had cast their lot in with Ozpin. Being young and foolish and in love, I decided to stay a little longer with Tai in the hopes of convincing him otherwise. And then you happened."

Raven's expression softened again, this time into a shadow of what Yang would come to recognize, much later, as the face of a mother first beholding her newborn.

"You were so beautiful, Yang. I remember the first time I held you like it was yesterday...words cannot describe how that felt. Perhaps one day you'll understand..."

She trailed off for a second, then seemed to get herself back on track.

"I could leave STRQ if it came to that, but not you. So I gave them one final chance to join me, and told them that I would be leaving with you either way. Tai wouldn't allow it; in fact, he wouldn't let me near you after I gave him my ultimatum. So Qrow and I returned to the tribe, and plotted to return in a couple of weeks to bring you home in the dead of night."

The bitterness returned painfully on her mother's face.

"In retrospect, I should have left without warning and taken you with me while I still had the chance... We returned to take you, but Summer and Tai were already there waiting for us. And then..." The rage in Raven's eyes could have set the table ablaze as she stared down towards it. "...Qrow betrayed me. He had tipped them off about what I was going to do, and as soon as we stepped out of that portal, he drew his blade and stood against me. My own brother - after all we had been through, after all I had done for him - !"

She pulled herself together, which brought some relief to Yang; for a moment, it had seemed like her mother would burst at the seams. No longer did it seem so, but the anger yet simmered in her eyes like the resentful remnants of a hearth fire.

"It's _him _whom you can thank for ripping us apart. If it weren't for him, I would have had you - we wouldn't have been separated, I wouldn't be explaining to my own daughter why I was never there for her!" Again, Raven reigned in her emotions with a heavy breath. "But...here we are. After that night, I knew there was no hope of rescuing you - not with the rest of my team standing guard. And even if I was somehow able to manage it, Qrow would have been able to lead them right to me and my people, and I couldn't afford to put them at risk like that."

"Well, why did you have to leave, then? I thought you said your team was your family!"

"No, Yang, I said they were _like _family. But the tribe? They _were _our family. And not only them, but... The chieftain before me - the Midnight Lord, he was called - raised us as his own. He even made us his heirs, as he had lost his own son long ago. He taught us that there are two things in life more important than anything else. They are family, the greatest treasure of life, and strength, by which that treasure is guarded. Of all things in this life, these will never fail you."

She said these last two sentences like a mantra. Her gaze took on its familiar hardness.

"And nothing aside from them can be trusted. That was my brother's mistake: he put his trust in Ozpin. In retrospect, I can perhaps see why he did; Ozpin had always paid special attention to him, taking him under his wing and playing upon the turmoil his Semblance had always caused him."

"His..._Semblance?_"

"Qrow brings misfortune to those around him," Raven said with a dull flippancy. "It's not something he can control or stop, and so he's always tended to be a reclusive person; he fears that he'll cause harm to those he cares about."

"That's...all this time, he..." Yang folded her arms across her lap and hung her head, unable to say anything more. Raven's frown remained, but there was a humorless smirk in her red eyes.

"Tragic, isn't it. I used to pity him for it, too - I even stuck with him all throughout our lives, in spite of all the potential consequences. But now, I hope that Semblance rips away every last bit of joy left from his life. It's no less than what he deserves."

"What - _you - how could you!_" Yang had to wrestle the dragon to the metaphorical ground, lest her rage come vomiting out of her shaking body. She very well might have lost this time, had Weiss not taken hold of her arm; the shaking subsided.

"Yang - "

She stopped, noting the hissing of breath through her friends teeth. Finally, Yang lifted her head back up to look at her mother; their eyes were mirrored.

"You _have _been paying attention, right?" said Raven. "I seriously doubt that you would feel any different in my situation. What if Ruby betrayed you and stole _your _child from you? Would you still love her as you do now?"

"That's not...she would never - "

"You're missing the point. I know you think she would never do that, but I thought the exact same thing about Qrow. It made his betrayal all that much worse. This isn't to say that you should never trust your family, of course, but it's a cautionary tale about what can happen when family loses its place as the most important thing in life."

Though not consoled by any means, Yang's eyes simmered down to purple. Weiss, against her better judgement, spoke up:

"So, uh...you were saying that Qrow sided with Ozpin. If we may ask...what's so bad about that?"

"Ah, yes...I see we're getting to the good part now." Raven cracked a half-smile and folded her hands. "What if I told you that magic was real?"

* * *

The early afternoon sun shone over the city of Mistral as the Huntsmen-in-training went to take a lunch break. Lionheart sat outside against the wall of the combat building, resting with his coffee thermos by his side. He had been working Jaune hard all morning, and the young man had continued to impress him with his sheer will to improve himself. Lionheart had admittedly found himself a little out of breath by the time they had finished, either a testament to Jaune's tenacity or to his own age getting to him (he liked to think it was the former). Pyrrha had taught him well, indeed, and with determination like that he had shown, he would only be getting better. The rush of a teacher's satisfaction that he had gotten from watching his student improve, alongside the exhilaration of a good spar, almost translated to a sort of euphoria...almost enough to make him forget about -

_Pyrrha._

The name resounded accusingly in his head. Her blood, in part, was on his hands. This he knew, and this repeated thought he could not expunge, try as he might. His mind threatened to spiral down into that oft-visited pit of guilt and self-hatred, now made all the more potent by the presence of Pyrrha's friends and teammates, whose faces he could only imagine should they learn what he had done -

And then he reminded himself again why he had made that wretched deal with Salem. There was a reason, he told himself, that meant that this price was worth paying. Besides, he reassured himself, he would be able to mitigate any future loss now that Ozpin was right in his grasp. He might lose everything - even his life, and rightly so - but he would lose it having done what must be done. And that was enough -

The last clouds of negativity broke from Lionheart's vision along with his train of thought as he saw Qrow sauntering up to him. He cleared his thoughts of conspiracy and became, inwardly and outwardly, the Leonardo Lionheart whom everyone else thought they knew.

"Is that the 'things aren't going so well' look I see on you, Qrow?"

"Sorta, yeah," Qrow said as he flopped down on the grass next to him. He took a long swig before continuing. "I went around town yesterday asking around - seeing if anyone had seen Hazel recently."

He paused. Lionheart was not sure whether it was reluctance or alcohol at work, considering that he had already emptied his flask twice during the day.

"And?"

Qrow let out a belch, which turned out to be the reason for the pause.

"No luck. Everyone else who knew him's just as in the dark as we are. Far as they know, he's dead and gone."

"Hmm, that's troubling...and I tried contacting him yesterday, too..."

This was technically true; he had tried contacting Hazel, successfully, to warn him that Ozpin knew he was alive and to tell him that he had better lay low. Hazel, for his part, had been very surprised and upset to learn that he could have gotten Ozpin right then and there.

"You think maybe Oscar saw someone totally different? I mean, he did say the guy was unarmed..."

"No...no, Ozpin would have known better than to make a mistake like that. Besides, he always did hate ticket machines with a passion - they never did seem to work for him. That was Hazel Rainart he saw, no question about it. The mystery is what on Remnant he's been doing all this time...?"

"Dunno. Maybe he just cracked or something. Wasn't his sister killed shortly before he disappeared?"

"Yes, I suppose it might be that. After all, she was the only family he had left...poor man. I do hope he's been doing alright."

"Well, this is Hazel we're talking about. There's only two other Huntsmen I know of who could make mincemeat out of Grimm like he could, and those were Oz and Summer. Honestly, I'm more worried about what we're gonna do if we can't get a hold of him, because so far, I haven't been able to find any Huntsmen who are both available and in the loop about the Maidens. Hazel is exactly that, and he'll slap Raven around like a bitch if he joins us."

It seemed that Qrow had more to say, but his countenance brightened and he paused again; he seemed to like the idea of the huge, grizzled Huntsman smacking the stars out of his twin sister. Finally, he continued:

"I'll go looking for Hazel, first thing tomorrow. I should be able to get a decent idea of where he is based on what Ozpin can remember. With any luck - " He caught himself. "Er..._hopefully_, I'll be able to talk him into helping us out."

Lionheart allowed his genuine worry to show through, knowing that Qrow would have no clue as to the true reason behind it.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? You've already encountered one of Salem's agents out in the wilderness, by whom you were nearly killed. They may be others looking to finish the job."

"You mean Tyrian?" Qrow responded with a light chuckle. "I had that little shit-meister by the balls. Only reason he got me was 'cause Ruby jumped in..."

He took another long swig and sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead.

"Love the kid to death, you know, but...but, _damned_ if she doesn't make the stupidest decisions sometimes...half the time I'm worried that she'll end up just like her mom, except even earlier on in life, you know?" A second passed before Qrow realized what he had said out loud; his hand dropped and his posture shifted. "But, uh, please don't tell her I said all that. Ever."

"Oh, I most assuredly won't."

"Thanks, Leo...uh...where was I? Oh, right...yeah, if Tyrian's the worst Salem can throw at me, I think I'll be fine looking for Hazel on my own."

"...Alright, then. Do what you think is best."

As Qrow walked off, Lionheart made a mental note to contact Hazel again later in the day, this time with a request to not kill Qrow should they happen to cross paths.

* * *

Yang and Weiss were very confused.

Magic and Maidens?

Relics and Gods?

Evil Grimm bitch queens, and Ozpin being immortal?

What the hell was going _on_ here?!

"What the hell is going _on _here?!" Yang finally half-laughed, half-sputtered out. "And why in the hell should we believe _any _of this?"

"For one, I can easily prove to you that magic is real," said Raven as she sipped her tea; she then set it on the table. "But it is also critical that you know what those who side with Ozpin are going up against. Like I said, he traps those who side with him in an unwinnable war against Salem. So if you care at all about your little sister, you'll tell her everything I've told you here and do everything in your power to get her away from Ozpin. Otherwise, she'll end up dead for nothing, just like her mother before her."

"_Mom _gave her life to protect the helpless from the Grimm!" Yang retorted. "She knew what she was signing up for!"

"No, Yang, she threw her life away for - !" And Raven stopped herself, seeming to rethink her next words. "...I see that you've taken to heart whatever your father and my brother have been teaching you, as I had feared. They've bought entirely into Ozpin's folly: risking their lives for strangers who aren't strong enough to survive on their own in this world, and who will never pay them back. And all this, in pursuit of some misguided desire for purpose."

"They do it because it's the right thing - "

"My point exactly!" Raven scoffed. "There _is _no 'right thing', Yang! The whole concept is a lie that people like Ozpin use to manipulate others for their own gain - in his case, to use them in his hopeless war against an unbeatable enemy. And so, like Summer did, they end up trading their lives for a nebulous, idealistic concept of morality. They gain _nothing _from it...and leave the rest of us behind with nothing but the pain of losing them."

"You're wrong, mom." Raven arched her eyebrow. "She died working towards a better future for the rest of us - one where the Grimm are a thing of the past. She gave her life to give us hope."

"Then she has done nothing but _lie _to us," Raven said, her initial intensity then mellowing out. "There _is_ no hope - that much can be seen just by looking around. If you thought Beacon was bad, I will tell you now that it was only the beginning. I have seen visions of things to come - great shadows rolling across Remnant, leaving only death in their wake. This world is drawing its last breaths, Yang - and it's only a matter of time before everything that Ozpin has built withers and burns away with it. So the only - "

But Raven stopped right there, as Weiss had just gasped very audibly. Memories of her dream two nights prior had returned to her consciousness like a single, tranquil strike of a gong. Yang turned to her friend.

"...Weiss? What's wrong?"

"I...no," she stammered. "No, you'll think I'm crazy."

"We've just spent a half-hour listening to nothing _but _crazy," said Yang. "I think I can handle a little more."

"I am curious as well," said Raven, and she clearly meant it.

So Weiss told them of the dreams she had had the last few nights - about the Jungle that was a Beast, the Shadow, the Wind, the blue thing. She saved the dragon and the bird for last, and recounted the latter's prophecy of doom. Raven displayed far greater investment throughout the whole story, but both women seemed very excited by the end.

"Why, I never thought I would come across another who had such visions," said Raven. "And the fact that the second dream has clearly depicted events that have already happened - "

"It's you and me!" Yang jumped in, but Raven was already on a roll.

" - and the fact that I had a similar dream many years ago, where a great Shadow devours the Kingdom of Vale! This - this is - !"

"But did you see the big Beast thing Weiss told us about?"

"Nothing of the like, though it should be obvious that it refers to Ozpin and his tangle of lies that he's fed to the people. But I am intrigued especially by the blue thing at the end. You say you didn't get a good look at it?"

"No, I just know that it was blue."

"Hmmm...that and the Wind remain a puzzle to me; perhaps the latter could refer to your flight from Atlas?"

"Maybe, I don't know..."

"Well, all the same," said Yang, "her dreams predicted what was going to happen today! Or, some of it, anyway."

"In light of that, I would suggest that you then heed my words about the world." The excitement in the room was subdued at this. "Even before the dreams I had, the Branwen Tribe has long known that Remnant is approaching its end; we've seen how kingdoms and orders rise and fall. And when this one finally does, it will be a fall from which the world will never recover. The coming darkness will snuff out every last candle of human light."

"Well, then why bother trying to fight it?" Yang's rhetoric came oozing out. "If we're all gonna die, then what's the point of continuing on?"

"Again, Yang, you're missing the point; you unfortunately seem to have inherited the bone-headedness of your mother's younger years. We are _not _trying to fight this impending doom; we are merely trying to survive as long as possible. It's the only thing that we can do; we must take whatever joy we can out of this life before we return to the dust from whence we came."

For a while, Yang and Weiss were speechless.

Though Weiss was certainly surprised at the sudden defeatist turn Raven had taken, most of her silence still stemmed from her fear of the bandit queen; it would be a long time before she would forget the feeling of those fingers under her chin.

It was different for Yang. Having heard her mother's beliefs, she slowly began to realize that they were not so different than her own. She certainly cared about her family at least as much as Raven claimed to, and damned if she wouldn't fight tooth and nail to protect them. She even found, to her inward shock, that elements of Raven's nihilism permeated the decisions she had made throughout the years. Yes, she had signed up to be a Huntress and put her life on the line for others, but she had ultimately done so for the chance of a life filled with excitement and danger - in essence, for her own enjoyment. Her introspection revealed that had she been forced to choose between furthering a greater good and saving those she loved, she would have always chosen the latter in a heartbeat.

Perhaps this was because, deep down, she had always believed what her mother had stated plainly.

And perhaps the concepts of good and evil were as nebulous as Raven had claimed...but Yang had had years of practice in pushing those sorts of questions aside. So she began her response with a small huff of laughter.

"Good luck convincing Ruby of that."

Raven nodded resignedly as she answered.

"Yes, I imagined she would be very much like her mother in that respect. But all the same, Yang, I still want you to try - for her sake, and for Summer's."

"And then what? What'll we do then? Run off on our own as the world burns around us?"

"You have us, Yang - the tribe. I'd even welcome in the Heiress if she so desired; I am sure she would make a fine lieutenant."

The look of suppressed distaste on Weiss's face further reinforced Yang's resolve in her response.

"I don't think so, Mom. All this - " She motioned to the outside of the tent. " - is not the life I want. I don't want to go around killing and stealing from people who don't deserve it!"

"'Deserve' implies right and wrong, Yang; I thought we discussed - "

"No! I'm done talking about that. It's not important now." Raven did not look pleased at this, but Yang went on anyway. "You know what? Let's talk about something we can both agree on: family. You said that it matters more than anything else in the world. And you're right. That's how I feel about my family, and I'm going to stick with them no matter what." She sighed. "Maybe this tribe is your family - I can't really argue otherwise if that's how you see things. But they're not my family, and they never will be. Ruby, and Dad, and Qrow, and my team - _they _are my family. And if fighting with Ozpin's what they've decided to do, then I'll be right beside them."

Raven's face was a bittersweet blend of pride and disappointment.

"Then there is nothing more I can do for you except to send you on your way. Do not expect that I will aid you or your friends in this fight. Know, however, that I will be watching over you as I always have; should you ever change your mind, you will not search long for me."

"Hang on," said Yang. "You've been watching over me this whole time? How?! And how come I never saw you?!"

Raven chuckled. "You _did _see me, Yang. Right outside of your window, in fact."

"..._Huh?_"

"Remember when I said I could prove to you that magic was real?"

* * *

A minute later, Yang and Weiss were standing just outside the back flap of the tent, waiting for Raven to come out from the forest to do whatever magicky thing she was going to do.

"Yang," Weiss whispered, "do you think that maybe your mom's just a little crazy?"

"Probably. If I lived in the wilderness with a bunch of bandits for all of my life, I think I'd be, too."

"Yeah, probably."

Another minute passed. Then, both girls noticed that they were being circled by a black bird.

"...I've seen that bird before..." Weiss heard Yang mutter. "...right outside of my - !"

And as soon as Yang gasped in realization, the bird dove down towards them -

\- and in a torrent of black mist, became Raven Branwen.

The two girls were thunderstruck, which Raven seemed to relish in.

"There you have it," she said nonchalantly. "Magic."

"B-but...how?" said Yang. "How is...how are you - "

"Ozpin's doing. He is from a time long lost to human memory, when magic was common throughout Remnant. He bestowed this ability upon my brother and I in the hopes that we would serve him. It is how the Maidens came to be as well, long ago."

"Okay...but if you've been watching me this whole time, then how come you never revealed yourself to me? You know - stop by to visit your daughter in person once in a while, or at least leave a message to show you cared?"

"For one, my brother has also been keeping a close eye on you. If I were to have appeared like that, I might have risked a fight with him, which could have potentially put your life in danger - not to mention that Summer would have set upon me like a raging Ursa if she saw me anywhere near you and Ruby. After she died, I did leave you a subtle clue as to my existence soon afterwards - one you evidently found. Some time later, I sensed that you were in danger and portalled to where you were. I'm sure you remember the night I'm talking about."

"The night I went searching for you...you were there?!"

"The threat had already been dealt with by the time I arrived; you were passed out cold from exhaustion in your uncle's arms. Qrow and I had a..._talk _that night. We agreed that I could watch over you in bird form so long as I made no attempt at communication myself, so as not to encourage you to further endanger yourself. In return, he and Tai would tell you more about me whenever they determined that you were ready, and allow you to make your own choices on the matter. It seems that they finally held up their end of the bargain."

"Yeah. Last year, during the Vytal Festival, he told me how I could find you." A flash of memory darted across Yang's eyes, and her face darkened. "He also told me that it was you who saved my life at Mountain Glenn...and that I 'shouldn't expect that kindness again'. So what's up with that? And also, how did you know I was in danger?"

"It's called being a mother, Yang," said Raven, as if that needed no explanation. "You just _know _when your child is in danger; that's all there is to it. And speaking of that, I had also told Qrow to relay that I loved you despite our separation. I'm assuming he conveniently forgot about that part, hmm?"

Yang just looked down; no answer came, which was all the answer that Raven needed.

"That sounds about like my brother. Now, as for your other question: all that means is that if you rush headlong into a suicidally dangerous situation alone, like you obviously did on that train, then it's not my responsibility to come and bail you out - especially if it has anything to do with Ozpin's war. That rule obviously did not apply when you were a child and could not protect yourself, but you are now an adult, and a very fine Huntress-in-becoming if you were able to stand up to the likes of Zarik for any length of time. So do not expect me to interfere in matters that are not my own when you are perfectly capable of handling yourself."

That seemed..._reasonable_, in a twisted way, and Yang had no more questions after that. More profoundly, however, was that her anger had mostly drained away. Yang would have initially chalked this up to her imminent reunion with Ruby, but the truth was that she simply could not be angry at her mother anymore. Certainly, she had been wrong to leave them for this tribe of thieves and murderers, that much Yang held. However, throughout their conversation, Yang had come to realize just how similar the two of them were. Raven was stubborn and set in her ways, yes, and her view of the world was one Yang liked very little. And yet despite that, she found herself almost admiring her mother's conviction and devotion to that worldview - such that Yang might even have described as noble. Her father had been right: it was indeed Raven who had torn the team apart with her refusal to accept the chance to change. But when putting herself in her mother's place, Yang couldn't help but wonder if she would have done any differently. She wondered...and in that sobering descent into empathy, the dragon's rage flickered and cooled.

And thus, it was time to leave.

Zarik's men brought Bumblebee around back in short order, and Vernal reluctantly returned Weiss's blade and hairpin to her. Yang couldn't help but smile at how her posture perked up as she twirled Myrtenaster; it was almost like watching two friends reunite.

As they stood there before the swirling, red vortex, Raven spoke one final time:

"If - if you ever change your mind...we will always be here for you. That I promise."

"I know." Yang started to leave, but looked back before entering the portal. "And...thank you."

* * *

"...Is she going to come out?"

"Well, if she doesn't in the next five seconds, then I'm going in and figuring out what the hell this is about."

Qrow and Lionheart stood in front of the elliptical, red rift in reality, hands on their weapons. Qrow had gone back behind the combat building to finish his drink, and had been rudely interrupted by glowing herald of his sister's imminent arrival. Lionheart had immediately hurried over in response to his Scroll call, but thirty seconds had then gone by without anyone coming through.

Thirty seconds became thirty-five.

"Alright, I'm going - "

But just as he took his first step forward, Qrow saw none other than his niece walk through the portal with her bike. And also that Schnee girl who was her teammate...whose name, as much as he'd had to drink that day, eluded him entirely. _Eh_...she wasn't that important anyway, especially next to all the other questions that had sprung up like weeds in his mind.

_"Yang?!"_

"Hey, Qrow." She then looked around her new environment. "...Where are we? - Actually, scratch that - where's Ruby?"

Lionheart, whose eyes had since popped back into his sockets, took the liberty to answer.

"Oh! Ah, I believe they should be just around the combat building - they've recently returned from lunch break."

Only later would it occur to Yang that she had never met this man before in her life. She took off without another word; Weiss, however, gave Lionheart a second glance, and her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Professor Lionheart!"

"Ah, yes - Miss Schnee! Where are my manners? Yes, it is I." He shook her hand, and they both saw Qrow walking past them in nonchalant pursuit of Yang. "I should think that we ought to follow as well, no? Miss Rose will be most elated to see you, of that I am certain."

Yang rounded the corner of the building, skidding to a stop as she got a full view of Haven's campus - and of her friends from Beacon. Jaune, Nora, Ren and Ruby were walking around as a group and well into a conversation when Yang saw them. She thought to call out to her sister, but once again, she felt that accursed tightness seize her voice like it had when she first locked eyes with Raven. It was a different sensation this time, though; guilt, rather than fear, stopped her.

Ren was the first to notice her, and he alerted Ruby of her presence with a tap on the shoulder. Ruby spun halfway in one direction, then halfway in the other, before finally locking in on Yang. Her eyes bugged; Yang dared to approach several steps, but stopped when she saw that Ruby was making no effort to come forward. She fought through that tightness and finally spoke out:

"Ruby - "

"Yang, I - "

By the time they interrupted each other, only five meters or so separated the sisters. Yang decided to let Ruby say whatever she had to say, resolving to take it full force and without complaint. She bowed her head and waited.

"Yang, I - " Ruby stammered again, " - you...you came for - I - I'm sorry - " Her voice was on the verge of breaking. "...You - I mean, I just - I didn't even say goodbye, and you were just there by yourself - "

But Yang had stopped listening as soon as the word "sorry" escaped Ruby's mouth. Relief and guilt flooded her being simultaneously.

She ran up to her sister and slammed into her with an embrace as crushing as it was tender, lifting her off her feet and cinematically spinning her round. She loosened her grip so that Ruby had a chance to breathe once she set her back down, and Ruby started again:

"...I'm sorry, Ya- "

"Stop." Yang held her at arm's length, gripping her shoulders. "You did nothing wrong. I - _I'm _the one who has to apologize. You needed me, too, and I was the one who pushed you away...but I'm here now." She pulled Ruby back into her arms and held her tight, which she returned mightily; there was no stopping the tears from either of them, nor were they ashamed. "And you know that I love you."

A single, small sob was all Yang needed to hear to know that she had been forgiven.

A long minute passed with the two in each other's arms.

"I'm just glad you're back," Ruby finally muffled into Yang's shoulder. She smiled; the reunion had gone better than she had dared to expect. She would have to give Weiss the credit for predicting this outcome -

\- ...oh, shit. Weiss!

"Well," said Yang, "I'm not the only one."

And she motioned behind her where Lionheart, Qrow and Weiss were now standing; the latter seemed somewhat pensive before the emotional display before her.

_"_Weiss!" Ruby gasped, and instantly set upon her in a hug that would make her sister proud. "You'rebackIcan'tbelieveitImissedyousomuchIthoughtI'dneverseeyouagain- "

"Squeezing...my...tears...out...dolt!" Weiss squeaked out, and Ruby finally let her go. A second passed by before Weiss immediately returned the hug - but, or course, with enough civility to allow her partner to breathe.

"You don't know how much I missed you..."

No more words were said, and none were needed. Then a thought hit Ruby:

"...So, is Blake here, too?"

Weiss started; she hadn't thought of Blake at all that day, and now felt a little guilty for it. Come to think of it, she now found it strange that Blake had not been accompanying Yang.

"...She's not here with you?" said Weiss.

Ruby's face fell. "Oh...I mean, uh, no, she's not - it's complicated, I'll explain later."

Weiss did not entirely like the sound of that, but Ruby was never one to let the bad outshine the good for very long, and that thought was cut short.

_"This is the best day ever!" _she shouted while jumping a full seven feet in the air.

"Yes!" came Nora's trumpeting reply, whose team had been maintaining a respectful distance. "And now, we must celebrate...with a _feast!_"

"Nora, we just ate lunch..."

_"So?"_

"Alright, everyone," Yang shouted out. "Gather round for the group hug!"

It was a glorious gaggle of joy, tears, and friendship that day on the mountaintops of Mistral.

* * *

**AN: Zarik is based off of a fictitious character that my younger brother designed. Credit for his inspiration goes to him.**


	7. Answers

Oscar had been taking time after lunch to meditate with Ozpin in his (their?) dorm when the commotion outside caught his attention. Out of habit rather than fear, he pocketed his cane and hurried outside; he did not want to miss out on whatever was happening.

Once there, he quickly saw through the joyous, six-strong throng of Huntsmen-in-training that two were there that had not been before. Almost immediately, memories from his - no - from _Ozpin's _time at Beacon Academy rose to the surface of his mind like bubbles from an ocean vent, and the newcomers were identified as Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee...and with that came _quite _the information dump concerning their personalities and pasts. It was not the first time this had happened, of course; he had experienced a similar sensation of wanting to reel physically from the sheer magnitude of it all when first meeting the members of RNJR. At least then, he'd had time to process through everything while they trekked up the mountain. Now, though, he found himself standing still and gawking at the spectacle while he tried to sort through all of the new input, and probably with a really dumb look on his face.

As if that was not enough to make him feel awkward, Oscar could not help but fall into a slight envy at the camaraderie before him. Naturally, the teenaged boy desired acceptance by his new peers, and here was a motley band of tight-knit friends with trust and bonds already running deeper than any he might ever hope to forge with them. This was yet another reminder to him that he was the newcomer, the outsider - and the fact that he was also the reincarnation of Ozpin himself would do absolutely nothing to help with that image. Oscar shook his head, feeling a little silly about this envy; only a day prior he had been the focal point of RNJR's attention as they mercilessly lampooned him and Ozpin with non-stop questions for hours on end, and he had many a time wished for it to end. (Lionheart had ended up affording him the private dorm for this very reason.) He would not let the irony of turning tables get to him so easily; he knew he ought to be too clever and mature for that.

By then, most of RNJR's attention was being directed towards Yang's prosthetic, which she seemed to be quite enjoying as she showed off its many capabilities. Oscar noted that while the girl was behaving fairly true to what he - what _Ozpin_ remembered her to be like (gods, he was going to lose his mind at this rate), there was something off about her...it was almost as if seeing the Yang of before had been like watching a sunrise, while the Yang of now was more like watching a sunset.

_How quickly they've all grown._

"Oh, oh - Jaune, show them your upgrade!" Ruby piped up through a lull in the tangled dialogue. Jaune happily complied, showing off his weapon's new offensive feature. Weiss and Yang both looked like they were about to say something critical, so he preemptively defended himself.

"Okay, look, it is _not _just a 'sword-sword' - it can also do this!" And he removed the blade from its sheath, then rotated the sheath on its mag-clip to point with his forearm. He activated a switch, and the bronze blades extended out from the sheath to create an armblade of sorts. "See - it's also a _sheath_-sword!"

"No Dust or firearms? I'm disappointed." Weiss had her arms crossed and eyebrow raised teasingly.

"I have absolutely zero experience with Dust," Jaune retorted, "And I really didn't wanna blow myself up trying to learn on the fly; we already have one Crater-face in the group."

"Hey!"

"Sorry-not-sorry, Ruby. And I _did _want to put a gun on it, but the smith told me that the most he'd be able to add onto there without completely compromising its effectiveness would be basically...you guys remember that little pea-shooter Dove Bronzewing had on his sword?"

"Oh, yeah," said Yang. "Yeah, that thing was just sad."

"So, yeah. That's what I'd have been putting on there, and it honestly wouldn't be doing me much good against anything bigger than a Creep or a baby Nevermore. And also, screw Dove, he really had a stick up there."

"Fair enough, on both accounts," said Weiss, still a little sore about that one time when Dove bested her in a fencing match and wouldn't stop bragging about it. Yang, for her part, noticed that the bronze additions to Crocea Mors looked _very _familiar...and thus she elected to save that thought for later. Besides, there was a far more pressing thought at the front of her mind:

"Okay, guys - never ever to be a party pooper, but Weiss and I should probably go clean up. We've, uh, had a rough day."

_"Yes..."_ Weiss sighed exultantly, already feeling the purifying heat of a shower washing the filth from her body. Ruby looked questioningly at Yang.

"Yeah, what's with all that orange stuff on your - " And then she looked down and saw that it had gotten on her, too. "It, uh...it washes off, right?"

* * *

It did, thank goodness.

Two very long showers and a change of clothes later, Oscar, Qrow, Lionheart, and the students all sat crowded on the beds inside RNJR's dorm with the doors locked and the curtains drawn. The predictably stifled atmosphere complemented perfectly the blanket of apprehension now settling heavily within the room.

Yang and Weiss were about to get some answers from Qrow.

"So...how'd the visit with your mom go?"

"...I'm still not sure," said Yang. "But she told me...well, a lot of things, about you and about the world. I - we need to know if any of it's true."

Qrow nodded. "Lemme guess...she told you about the Maidens, the Relics, the gods, Salem, and Ozpin's whole reincarnation jig. And knowing her, she also told you about my Semblance."

Yang and Weiss shared a glance of slightly surprised confirmation before the blonde nodded. "Yeah. And - sorry, I'm still kinda having a hard time buying this...but that's Ozpin, right there?"

"It's weird, I know," said Oscar, whose dual-souled nature had been revealed to the two Huntresses earlier on by an overexcited Nora. "I'm still getting used to it myself."

Yang turned to Ruby. "And, you guys know all of this, too?"

"Yeah. We ran into this crazy guy working for Salem who wanted to kidnap me for her. Uncle Qrow told us everything after we fought him off."

Weiss perked up in remembrance, and looked at Oscar.

"Raven also showed us that she could turn into a bird, and that you - I mean, Ozpin gave her that ability, as well as the Maidens' powers."

Oscar's eyes closed briefly, and when they reopened, it was Ozpin sitting on the bed. All eyes were on him, as Weiss's revelation was news to RNJR.

"That is correct, Miss Schnee. I did so because they had sworn oaths of secrecy and loyalty to me and to the people of Remnant. They were to be my trusted agents - spies against Salem, if you will."

Lionheart scoffed. "Clearly, only one of them knew how to keep a promise."

"As you can see," Oz continued, "Raven's betrayal did not sit well among those within our ranks. I may have magical abilities, but they are far faded from what they once were, especially since I bestowed my magic upon the Maidens. Gifts like those I gave the Branwens are not given lightly, which is why I reserve them and the knowledge of them only to those whom I can trust."

"So, why - /What about - /You can - "

Yang, Jaune, and Nora all began their questions at the same time. Ozpin raised his hand against the tide.

"_One _at a time, please," he chuckled, then pointed at Nora. "You first, Miss Valkyrie."

"So, if you can give people the ability to turn into birds..."

"Yes?"

"...then, can you do it for other kinds of animals, too?"

"Nora, he's not going to turn you into a sloth."

"Don't burst my _bubble_, Ren!" She looked at Ozpin with round, pitiful eyes. "...Please?"

"..._Ah_...Mr. Arc, you also had a question?"

Jaune nodded, ignoring Nora's sad noises. "What about the Maidens? Why did you give _them _their powers, especially if they risk sending them off to people like Cinder? The process could be completely random - and yes," he stopped Ozpin from interjecting, "I know you didn't realize that someone would be able to steal a Maiden's powers like Cinder did when you first gave them, and I don't blame you for that. But if you were as powerful as the four Maidens combined at one point, then why didn't you just use all that power yourself so that others couldn't use it for evil?"

"Because, Mr. Arc, I know that there will come a time when I no longer live on this world - when Salem is finally destroyed. Yes, Miss Xiao Long and Miss Schnee," Oz addressed the looks of surprise on their faces, "It can indeed be done despite what Raven may have already told you, and by a means which will be explained to you all in due time." He shot a quick glance Ruby's way before moving on. "But while defeating Salem once and for all would certainly be a great victory for humanity, it will by no means solve every problem in the world. Take the Great War, which in hindsight was bound to have happened even if Salem had nothing to do with it - or the myriad of injustices committed against the Faunus, past and present. The Maidens were, and still are, meant to be my successors in guiding Remnant to an ever better future once I am gone forever. There is a reason I gave them and them only the ability to access the Relics: so that they themselves could use them for the good of all, should the need ever arise."

Oz let that sink in with the students and continued:

"Now, as for their reincarnation process. That, unfortunately, was unavoidable. Magic can do _incredible _things if fully explored, but even then, it has its limits; the spell in question simply could not be configured in a less restrictive manner than that which we are dealing with today. Considering that, I do understand your skepticism, Mr. Arc. However, even with the spell's limitations, my allies and I quickly managed to develop a system that, until only recently, has worked very well in ensuring that the Maiden powers reside in good hands. When a Maiden was approaching the time of her death, our agents would scout out potential candidates far in advance. Once one was found and she agreed to take on the responsibility, we would simply bring her before the current Maiden, where she would remain until the latter's inevitable passing. It must be noted that Spring and Fall are compromised because of outside interference; Fall's situation is well known to you all by now, and Raven has evidently bent Spring to her will."

Jaune seemed to find Ozpin's answer satisfactory, but Yang and Weiss appeared shocked.

"Wait - _what?!_ You mean the Spring Maiden's with Raven?!"

Qrow laughed. "_Whoops_...looks like she forgot to fill you in on that little detail. That sounds about like my sister."

"It must have been Vernal..." Weiss said subduedly, blanching at the thought of having clashed blades with what was effectively a demigoddess. "She called lightning from the sky, and made that big thunderclap."

"Wait," Lionheart interjected. "What did you say her name was?"

"Vernal."

"And...what did she look like?"

Weiss, understanding what he was getting at, described Vernal's appearance (with perhaps a bit of negative personal bias in terms of generosity). The three elders on the room shared a concerned look.

"Oh dear," Lionheart lamented. "Poor Olwena...I should have known that she was not ready for such a burden."

"The fault was not yours," said Oz. "None of us could have foreseen - "

"What happened?" said Yang. "I mean, the Maiden...was she somehow captured by Raven?"

"No," said Lionheart. "About ten years ago, the recently appointed Spring Maiden...well, the magnitude of her responsibility was apparently too overwhelming for her young soul, and she ran off into the wilds within a few months of receiving her powers. We never found out what became of her...until now, it seems. This Vernal woman must have taken the power for herself after killing Olwena."

A thought flashed across Weiss's field of mental awareness, but was quickly buried under the exhaustion that had been slowly creeping through her body throughout the day. She remained silent.

"And, Miss Xiao Long - you had something to say as well?"

"Yeah. Why all the secrecy? Why try to hide all of this from everyone?"

Qrow, Ren, and Jaune all looked like they wanted to say the very same something, but they deferred to Ozpin.

"Firstly, to protect the Maidens and the Relics from those who would use them to their own nefarious ends. However, there is also the matter of avoiding massive public unrest, of which everyone here knows the consequences. Now, I do not know that any of you are or were previously religious or spiritual, so I will take a minute to elaborate on this. There are many who view their spirituality or religion as a source of hope and morality - _the _source, in some cases. Take that hope away, and we would create a state of despair and panic, not to mention the violence that might potentially come from religious groups who would feel threatened by such revelations. I know it may seem manipulative, but the best thing we can do to ensure the safety of the people is to continue to hide the truth from them and, yes, to let them believe in things that we know not to be true."

Lionheart sipped his coffee.

"So," said Qrow after a brief silence, "Any more questions?"

The students had been sharing looks varying in comfortability; JNR seemed mostly content with what Oz had had to say, though Ruby and Weiss appeared less at ease. Yang, however, had an immediate answer.

"Yes. But, just the two of us. There's still something we have to talk about."

Qrow, apparently, knew exactly what that something was; he got up and motioned for Yang to follow him. As he made to leave, Oz tapped him on the shoulder and mouthed an indiscernible question to him. The Huntsman thought for a moment before nodding slowly and whispering a terse, equally discrete response. He and Yang then left the room together. Ozpin filled the silence:

"Miss Rose, there is also something that Leo and I will need to discuss with you. If you would accompany us to the office?"

* * *

Qrow and Yang sat across from each other in the dorm that would soon be occupied by her and her teammates.

"Well, then. I'm assuming Raven told you all about what happened the night she left."

"She did. What I wanna know is...is it true? That she tried to take me with her?"

There was a subtle change she saw in her uncle - an almost-crack in that grizzled mask smelling of booze. Behind it, she knew, lay a man whose heart so many losses throughout the years had rent asunder.

Yang had long suspected that he carried something of the like with him; after all, she was never so innocent and naive as her sister that she did not recognize his drinking as a symptom of something else. However, he had never before allowed her to see that part of him surface.

"...Yeah. It was a real mess that night." He sighed heavily. "I'll be honest, part of me wanted to take her side. I'd seen how she looked whenever she held you, and - gods, you shoulda heard her screaming at Tai when he told her she couldn't take you with. There was just this desperation in her voice. But..." The crack widened. "...I also knew what she'd be taking you to live in. Our - the man who raised us was...well, without going into detail, he was _not_ a good person. Raven just never allowed herself to see that, and so she reflected a lot of who he was in herself. And she still does. So I did what I did, because first off, I knew you'd be a whole lot better off with your dad. But..." He shifted on the brown bean bag he was sitting on. "...there was another reason I did it, and for more selfish reasons."

"...And what was that?" Yang prompted Qrow out of his reluctance.

"I knew that if Raven raised you as part of the tribe, she'd have made you into a fighter. Didn't bother me by itself, except that I'd given my word to help Oz in his mission. Raven was defecting and going back to her old ways, which meant that our goals would be in opposition. I knew there might come a day when I had to fight the tribe, and...going against Raven was bad enough, but I couldn't stand the thought of one day having to draw my sword against my own niece."

Yang said nothing, instead contemplating the hidden depths of her uncle that she had only recently uncovered.

"I know," Qrow said after a few seconds. "We've kept you from your mom all that time, let you think that she just never cared. Maybe it was to protect you, but don't think I didn't know that it hurt. And I'm sorry it had to - "

"No," Yang cut him off. "You did the right thing. I don't know what might have happened if I'd run after my mom - I don't know what I might have turned into, and I don't think it would be something I'd have ended up liking. But no matter what would have happened, I'd have been pushing away the family I already had." Her gaze lowered painfully. "Back home at Patch, I realized just how much harm that can do, and how much it can screw things up. It got to a point where I just about destroyed things with Dad. And then when I got here, I thought Ruby would be so hurt and angry at how I treated her...and instead she _tried to apologize - _" She sniffed, pausing to wipe away a round of welling tears. "...I got lucky, in more ways than one. I see now how I would've lost that, how I would've lost Ruby if it weren't for you and Dad doing what you did. And, yeah," she smiled, having seen Qrow grimace at one of her words in particular. "Say what you will, but I'm lucky to have had you with me."

Yang could see a dull warmth light up inside her uncle as he looked her in the eye. Years of cynicism had done much for that dullness, but it was a warmth nonetheless. It glowed through the slight tug of a smile on his face that served as his thanks. The moment lasted for a few seconds.

"There's a couple more questions I've got, though. The time when you told me how I could find Raven...she said she'd also told you to say that she loved me. If you were ready to give me the green light to go after her like that, why didn't you tell me that, too? It would have at least been nice to know!"

Qrow's shadow of stubble accentuated his darkened countenance.

"Because Raven has a very...shall I say it, _skewed _definition of the word 'love', among other things. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you getting your hopes up, or getting any wrong ideas of what was coming. To her, love is a conditional thing, tied to usefulness and strength. She'll toss even family aside if they don't meet her standards - and she has."

"Really," said Yang, interested.

"Yeah." Qrow leaned over on the bean bag, gazing out the window at the sinking afternoon sun. "We used to have a cousin. Bit of a shitbag, yeah, but not a monster like our... Well, anyway, shortly after Raven took over the tribe, she decided that he would go the same route as we did and join a Huntsman Academy. He was sent up to Atlas, but when she went to check on him a year later, he'd been kicked out of the Academy and ended up in a Dust mine. So she just left him there. It's the last I ever heard of him."

Qrow turned around to face Yang and was about to continue, but:

"Uhhh...you mean Zarik?"

"...Yeah, that's him. Did she tell you about - "

"No, he was there with the tribe."

"Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah...unfortunately. I remember Raven mentioning that he'd returned from Atlas at some point, so...I think he must've found his way back himself. Though I guess that explains why you also didn't bother telling me I had a second cousin."

"Yeah, didn't think he'd still be around. Guess it's good to know he didn't bite it up in - " But then he blinked, the mild relief brightening his face giving way to suspicion. "Wait a minute...what do you mean, 'unfortunately'?"

"Oh-ho-_ho_, do I have a story for you!"

Qrow leaned back with half smirk on his face. _This oughta be good._

* * *

"Do you remember the first time we met, Miss Rose?"

They were seated on a trio of armchairs in the left-hand corner of the headmaster's office, a small, single-posted roundtable separating teachers from student.

"Yeah, the night you let me into Beacon..." Her presence of mind flashed back to her conversation with her uncle on Patch after the school fell. "You said that I had silver eyes, didn't you?"

Oz grinned. "That I did. You have a good memory, indeed." He and Lionheart shared a look, and the latter got up to get something from his desk.

"Well, actually...it was Uncle Qrow who kind of remembered that for me, a while back..."

"Ah, yes - he must have told you something about that after the fact."

"Yeah. He said that I'm 'special like my mom was'...that's what we're talking about now, isn't it?"

"Precisely," said Lionheart, who had returned with a plate and the crinkling of cellophane, very much securing the Huntress's attention. He set the plate on the table and let a dozen or so cookies slip onto it from their gold-colored packaging. "I have heard much about your love of cookies; fortunate it is that I like to keep some for an occasional indulgence. I do hope you like snickerdoodles?"

"Mff? Mmh-hm!" Ruby had taken all of two seconds to narf down half the plate. Neither headmaster was terribly surprised at this, considering the well-known, direct correlation between Aura usage and metabolism. Ozpin waited until she had finished her current mouthful.

"What else did did your uncle tell you?"

"He...well, he mostly talked about it being a really old legend, but...he said there were warriors who the Grimm feared, and who could destroy them with only a glance. But, besides that...not much else."

"Then what he elected not to reveal, shall be today," said Oz; Ruby was once more fascinated of his ability to make her forget that he was cohabiting in the body of a fourteen-year-old farmboy. "Ruby Rose, you are indeed special like your mother was. You are descended from an ancient and deadly line of warriors with nigh-unparalleled capabilities in fighting the creatures of Grimm. It is true, indeed, that their gaze could reduce even the mightiest of Grimm to ashes; what you did at Beacon was only a shadow of the true potential of your lineage. As might be inferred, they have therefore proved invaluable in protecting humanity throughout the millennia of my existence." The headmaster's visage clouded with apprehension. "...Now, I stated earlier that Salem can be destroyed by a means which would later be explained. Perhaps you can see where I am going with this...?"

"I think so..." Ruby said without much conviction. Oz sighed.

"Salem is...not human. Not anymore. It is..._difficult _for me to explain the details now, but what I can say with confidence is that she cannot be killed by conventional means. However, the nature on which she has taken draws upon the same, quintessential forces of which the creatures of Grimm are composed...the same forces that your abilities are hardwired to undo."

If Ruby was unsure of what Ozpin was going to say before, she was no longer so.

"You mean, _I'm _the only one who can destroy Salem."

"Yes," Lionheart picked up after Ozpin. "And sadly, in a very literal and individual sense. The abilities of your bloodline are well known to Salem, and while she herself is vulnerable to them, the same does not hold true for other humans. So, because of her concerted efforts through her proxies...you are, as far as it is known to us...the last of your kind."

It seemed to take a moment for Ruby to awaken to the gravity of what she had just heard. Through the turmoil of innocence teetering, both Lionheart and Ozpin could see the wheels of her mind turning about.

"So...so that's how my mom died, then..._she _had someone kill her."

"Presumably, yes," said Oz, "but I feel that I must elaborate further on her case. There was an attempt to kill Salem, about...almost twelve years ago now, I should say, that she took part of, alongside myself and the veteran Winter and Fall Maidens. There was no guarantee of success against the likes of Salem, but it was the best chance we would have had in a long time. Indeed, I had hoped that this time, perhaps, we might win. But there were some...unforeseen circumstances that led to this mission being your mother's last."

"...What were they?" Ruby exuded a sort of reluctant curiosity, as if wanting to know what is behind a door, yet afraid for what it might be.

"They...Salem had apparently managed to procure a number of allies previously unknown to us. To this day, even I do not know who exactly they were, and no sightings have been reported of them since. What I do know is that they were very dangerous, and one of them was a highly accomplished practitioner of magic - enough so that he held his own against the Winter Maiden herself. He also managed to separate Summer from the rest of us, after which Salem unleashed her wrath upon us; we were barely able to escape with our lives, and Fall spent her remaining years as a cripple. Most disturbing, however, is that I could sense illusion magic surrounding these allies...leading me to speculate if they were even human at all."

"Faunus, maybe?" said Ruby, remembering how Blake had hidden her identity in the past.

"...I sincerely hope that is the case. If not, we may be dealing with something far larger and more dangerous than we had thought. I hate to think that this could be...but we must consider the possibility of sentient Grimm creations."

"...Do you think that's what Cinder might be? I mean - what I did on the tower..."

"Yes, I heard Qrow's account of the aftermath...it is possible, I suppose. However, we also know from him that Cinder utilized some form of Grimm creature to steal the Fall Maiden's power. It could have been that the creature had intertwined itself within Cinder's body, thereby causing her harm when you used your abilities."

There was a bit of a pause as Ruby sorted through all she had learned.

"So that's it, then," she spoke at last. "I'm gonna have to try and destroy Salem one day, like my mother before me."

"Not necessarily," Lionheart was quick to put in. "The last attempt has given us some pause as to whether we will launch such an attack in the near future. Certainly, we are in no position to do so anytime soon. But, well...there is another thing to consider..."

"And that is the fact that you are the last of your kind," Oz continued for his obviously reluctant friend. "So even if you attain or surpass the proficiency that your mother did, we cannot afford to have you risk your life in a direct confrontation against Salem until...well, until you are no longer the last of your kind."

"Oh." Ruby immediately understood the awkwardness of the situation. Lionheart was again quick to further rectify.

"This is not to say, of course, that you must have children as soon as possible, but - "

"Yeah, uh, I think maybe I'll finish my training before I get into all that...and, you know, find someone I love, uh, you know..."

Oz cleared his throat as Ruby trailed off.

"...All that said, I know how it seems that I am simply using you and your family as a tool to fulfill my own designs. And perhaps there is some truth to that; it was one of Raven's less self-centered reasons for her departure, as she believed that Summer was being given no choice. But I assure you that such is never the case; with me, there is always a choice. I am of the conviction that each man and woman is the charter of their own course, the captain of their soul. So if you do not wish to embark on the path I have shown before you, I will neither stop you nor begrudge your - "

"I'll do it."

The young woman's swiftness of decision took both headmasters aback.

"You say that everyone has a choice," she continued, "but I'm not so sure about that. To me, it almost seems like there never was a choice; now that I know what's going on, I can't back down. I think that this is my destiny."

Lionheart and Ozpin shared a glance once more, and the latter's answer came with a warm smile.

"Then you will have our assistance in all you do to fulfill it. And you have my undying pledge that I shall do everything in my power to protect your family, present and future, from Salem's grasp."

Ruby returned his smile in thanks, and then looked inquiringly to Lionheart. "Is this what you were going to tell me later, Professor? About my mom?"

Lionheart forced himself to bite his tongue, and lied instead. "...Yes," he answered, appearing to have done a cursory sweep of his mental files. "That was about the essence of it, I think. I had intended to reveal it later, but with your sister's arrival and the revelations she brought with, Ozpin and I deemed now an appropriate time."

Ruby opened her mouth, then closed it, looking a little disappointed. Lionheart felt a pang of guilt for that, but to tell her everything he did know about her mother...that would not only risk exposing himself before the time was right, but would also put Ruby herself in even greater danger by potentially dragging her into his schemes. He knew the world could not afford that, and thus said no more as he assumed his kindly smile.

"Now," said Oz, "we have told you as much as we have in confidence, but we by no means require that you keep it between the three of us and Qrow. If you so desire to inform your friends and teammates, you may certainly do so. We know that yours is a heavy burden, and you may need the support of those you love to help you in bearing it. Keep in mind, though, that this is information that directly concerns your safety, so be sure to know whom you can trust with it."

"So, Miss Rose," said Lionheart. "Are there any questions about this that we can answer for you?"

There were two issues that Ruby could think of at the moment, but only one was fully articulated in her mind, and it was certainly the more pressing of the two.

"Yeah. How am I going to learn to use my powers? I mean, I have no idea how I was able to in the first place..."

"Normally," Oz answered, "we would seek out another of your ilk for that, but as there are none of whose existence we are currently aware, I will take upon that role myself. While I am admittedly unfamiliar with the realm of magic from which your powers stem, it is still magic, and I will do what I can to guide you along."

"Well, then...I have no more questions! Thank you, Professor."

Ozpin nodded, and with that, Oscar returned to the domain of his body. Farewells were bidden, and the two students left the building.

* * *

"Hey, Oscar, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well...follow me."

Intrigued, Oscar did as asked. Instead of going on a straight path to their supposed destination, Ruby took a very long detour around the campus. When they finally stopped, they were not in front of their dorms, but standing near the edge of the mountaintop. Oscar realized he had forgotten just how high above sea level they were as he gazed down the steep, sparsely vegetated slope. He looked up at Ruby to see if she was doing the same, but she was staring straight into the distance - at what in particular, he could not say.

"I think Lionheart's not telling me something," she said after a long thirty seconds. It was a moment before Oscar realized what she was referring to.

"Oh, uh...you think?" _That was really dumb_, he then chastised himself, but Ruby seemed too lost in thought to have cared about that.

"Yeah. About my mom. I'd asked him about it the day we got here - you'd left already, though. That's what he was talking about when I asked him that question."

"Huh, okay..." Oscar grasped pretty quickly what Ruby was getting at. "And so, you're wondering if I can tell you anything about it?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I guess I could also ask Professor Ozpin, but I guess there's not really that much of a difference."

"Yeah, I guess not," Oscar chuckled. "So, what was it you wanted to know? Seems like you had a whole bunch of questions answered back in there."

"I mean, I did, but..."

"Not the questions you were thinking about?"

Ruby sighed frustratedly. "It's just - you remember what he said about my mom the first time we met?"

As a matter of fact, he remembered exactly what Lionheart had said. He immediately began troving through his - Ozpin's - _his - _(whatever!) memories in search of anything relating to it.

"Yeah, that you didn't sound like her, right?"

"Mmhm. And for some reason, Uncle Qrow didn't like that or something, and so he stopped talking about it. It just - it bothers me that they're totally fine with telling me about how she died trying to save the world, but not with something really minor like this! It's like they think I won't be able to handle it, or something!"

"Uh, yeah," said Oscar, trying awkwardly to listen to Ruby, figure out the right response, and sift through a library's worth of memories, all at the same time. "That's, uh..." He took note of her expectant look, and realized that he had been standing there with a dumb, blank look on his face (again). It was to his immense relief that he just then happened upon a very interesting, if not exactly relevant, memory. "Well, actually, I think I've got some- "

_Oscar._

_Huh?_ He nearly said out loud, but thankfully caught himself._ What is it?_

_Now is not the time._

_What? Why not? This really doesn't seem like a big - _

_It is...part of something that her family wants to forget. We have to respect their wishes, even if we may not agree with - _

_Oh, come on! She's basically an adult, what's so -_

_Oscar, listen to me. It is not our place to - _

_No! This is dumb. Look, I'm just gonna tell her, and - _

_Let me put it this way, then: do you want to really piss off Qrow?_

Memories showcasing the Huntsman's undeniably terrifying combat prowess - and equally legendary drinking habits - flooded Oscar's mind for good measure. Nothing more was said (thought?) between them. Though Oscar didn't like Ozpin's insistence any more than he had before, he did not want to anger Qrow and betray his trust. But at the same time, Ruby had also just put her trust in him...which, to a boy who had left the only home and family he had ever known to throw himself into the fray and the unknown, meant a security he very much desired. Trust! Friendship! Hell, maybe even...

But Qrow had also been very kind to him in the past couple of days, despite their initial first encounter. He had taken him under his wing, listened to his story, answered all of his questions - he was just _there _for him whenever he needed it. Oscar had never known his father, and Qrow...well, he felt a little silly for leaping after such fantasies so quickly, but the man at least seemed like someone he could look up to and rely upon. He certainly didn't want to ruin that -

"Uh, Oscar? Are you okay?"

_Dammit! _"Huh? Yeah, I - just, uh, talking with Oz. But, you know, in my head."

"Gotcha," Ruby smiled understandingly. "So, you were saying you got something?"

"I..." _Dammit. _Whatever decision he was going to make, it would have to be now.

So, in a moment of extreme reluctance and reflexive panic, he did.

"...Actually, I, uh..." Ruby was staring at him, her smile fading.

_Dammit. _

"...I shouldn't, actually." His gaze dropped like an iron weight to the ground. "It's, uh - it's just real complicated, and Oz was saying that - "

"Oh," Ruby said dejectedly, and Oscar stopped to hold his breath. "You too, then."

It was clearly aimed at Ozpin - or at least, that's what Oscar hopefully assumed. She didn't seem angry, either - just disappointed, which was initially much better in his opinion than angry (especially having felt the strength of her kicks just hours prior).

But it was when Ruby looked away that Oscar saw the opportunity he had missed. She had hoped that perhaps he would trust her, that he would be someone she could confide in. And he had quenched those hopes. Doubtless, she wouldn't treat him any worse for it, but that much-desired closeness...Oscar didn't know when he would get that kind of chance again. And yet, his course was set.

Ruby turned and walked off without another word, her cape fluttering in the mountain breeze. Oscar just stood there, wanting to call out to her and tell her what he knew, but his own nerveless irresolution glued him in place. Eventually, she disappeared behind the corner of a maintenance building.

_Dammit, Ozpin._

* * *

Night fell on the city of Mistral. High above, the clouds dissipated before the eastward winds, rolling back like a black scroll. No longer obstructed, the shattered moon cast its bright shadow, watching over Remnant like an ancient, fallen guardian.

Ruby rested her head on Yang's shoulder, the sisters sitting back against a bed as they wound down for the night. It had been quite the afternoon as RNJR regaled Yang and Weiss of their trek across Anima, thoroughly impressing them. Equally so was RNJR after hearing all about Weiss's daring escape from Atlas and Yang's account of Raven, Zarik, and the Branwen tribe - though the latter's lack of puns did not escape Ruby's notice.

JNR had since headed back to their own dorm, leaving the three girls to their own devices. Soon after, Yang had taken the liberty of bringing back a tradition from her younger years: bedtime stories. It had been a long time since last she had done so, as her sister had since grown out of the need, but Ruby very much enjoyed the surprise. The fact that Weiss was also present for the stories made the evening all the more delightful.

As the moonlight broached through the window and Yang went on with her atypically traditional tale of knight-versus-dragon, however, Ruby's mind wandered elsewhere. She thought back to the mystery of her mother, wondering what her uncle could possibly be keeping hidden about her. Whatever it was, she wouldn't be getting it out of Lionheart, that was for certain. Ozpin, too, wouldn't say anything -

She then remembered Oscar. He, at least, had seemed willing to impart what information he had before Ozpin apparently stopped him.

_Oh, man...I probably could've handled that better, too. He might think that I don't like him now, and he doesn't deserve that! I'll have to go apologize to him later..._

With that resolved and out of the way, Ruby's mind returned to that strange limbo soup of thoughts, vaguely guided by Yang's continuously unfolding story until she made a conscious shift to focus entirely on said story. She was relieved she did, as Yang had just gotten to the exciting part where the hero faced down his ferocious, draconic foe.

Ruby had forgotten just how good of a storyteller her sister could be. The lack of visuals hardly shook the illusion; the battle was primally fierce and filthy, yet also elegantly choreographed. Gouts of blood-red fire carved black swaths through forest and meadow and splashed off the hero's great shield, with said hero's magical spear/anti-armor assault rifle in turn working relentlessly against the beast's iron scales. (Ample detail was given concerning the weapon's form and function, much to Ruby's excitement.) At last, the spear struck true, piercing the dragon's heart...but, rather than falling dead, it instead began a stunning transformation into a gorgeous lady - the same lady, in fact, whom the hero had set out to rescue from the dragon's clutches. Their reunion was truly heartwarming - that is, until the lady apologized for all the trouble she had caused, to which the knight responded that the rest of the month spent with her would more than make up for this comparatively trifling trial of husbandhood.

From the cheeky, toothy grin on her sister's face, as well as Weiss's visibly faux-assaulted sensibilities, Ruby pretty quickly picked up on what Yang had just done there.

"You - !" Weiss spluttered out. "...You can't - you can't do tha- _Yang Xiao Long, you are absolutely awful!"_

The sound of Nora's high-pitched cackling bled through the thin, Mistralian dorm walls. Yang's laughter joined the chorus, bolstered by the knowledge that JNR had been listening in as well (she had not taken any measures to remain quiet, especially for the battle scene). Ruby just stared ahead in what appeared to be some sort of shell shock; she never remembered any of Yang's stories ending like this! Then again, at this point they were all essentially adults...she realized she probably should have seen this sort of thing coming.

"Oh, come on, Weiss-cream," Yang guffawed, "You know you liked the story. Let's hear a round of applause for that one, everyone!"

Weiss glared at the wall as applause and cries of "Bravo!" erupted from the three traitors in the next room over, with Ruby joining in as well. At last, urged on by the latter, the Ice Queen rolled her eyes and begrudgingly awarded Yang a half-smile and a series of slow, aristocratically suppressed claps.

At last, the cheerful clamor died down, and Yang flopped down onto her bed.

"Whew! That was quite a ride, huh? Thinking I've got enough in me for one more, though...hey, Rubes, how 'bout you pick the story?"

Ruby perked up at that, an idea immediately brewing into clarity. How to articulate it, however, proved a little more difficult...

"It can be just a theme," Yang prompted. "Maybe a genre, or - "

"Actually, uh, I've got something more...specific."

"Oh? Do tell..." Yang's eyebrows waggled mischievously, which brought out Ruby's quick response.

"Yang, it's nothing inappropriate!"

"Awww, you sure? I can cook up some _really _hot scenes between the red-hooded maiden and her charming, blonde knight..."

"_Yang! _I don't like Jaune like that!"

_"Feeling's mutual!" _They all heard Jaune call out from the other room, towards which Ruby gestured confirmedly.

"Okay, okay," Yang conceded. "Y'all wanna keep it under wraps, be my guest. I won't snitch!" She was rewarded with an incoming pillow missile.

In all seriousness, Ruby was inwardly ecstatic to see the fun-loving side of her sister re-emerge. It had been so very long since she had last seen it...and that was when? Before she lost her arm - no, even before that! - before the singles at the Vytal Festival. Before they set her up...

But it wouldn't do for Ruby to dwell on that now, especially with what was on her mind as of late.

"So, uh..."

"Right, you had a story idea! Shoot it at me, sis. I'm all ears."

"Well, it's more of a real-life type of story..."

"Oh." Yang's interest was visibly piqued. "Go on."

"...I was thinking...maybe you could tell a story about Mom?"

Well, this was certainly intriguing for Yang. She wondered what could have possibly brought this about...she suspected it had something to do with her earlier meeting with Ozpin and Lionheart, but those questions would be better saved for another day.

Right now, Yang was going to make up for time lost.

"Yeah, I think I've got a few. Now, where to start..."

* * *

**I dedicate this chapter to Juvenoia, author of the one-shot "Maypops", for the inspiring my choices concerning Yang's development to this point, and for giving a most thoughtful and comprehensive review that truly bolstered my confidence and pushed me to strive for my very best. ****"Maypops" can be found in my Favorited stories, and I encourage everyone to read it.**


	8. Some Updates

**Firstly: I thank you all for reading my story and showing your support for my work. Double thanks goes to all who have reviewed or PMed me, as that means very much to me. Speaking of that, here is the first matter of business I have to discuss in this message to my readers.**

**I encourage all who enjoy my story to leave feedback by whatever means you deem prudent, as it means the world to me that someone cares enough to take time out of their day to do so. I especially prize criticisms, as they more than anything push me to be a better writer. With that said, I have already planned out the majority of this story, and requests to implement anything that would alter said plans will not be considered. This has not happened yet, of course, but I have seen reviews on other fanfics that make me really cringe. To those looking for a good model of criticism to follow, go to the review section and look at the really huge one by Juvenoia, which _has_ influenced how I write things. (You may have come across the name at the end of the last chapter.) Obviously, I don't expect everyone to write a whole essay for a review, but it is a very thorough overview that does not shy away from pointing out flaws as they are.**

**Now, for the next update: I have previously been very inconsistent with my writing. CaptainC0rv0, donmechdragonwing, JcL107, chinaluv, and of course, merendinoemiliano, I'm sure you all remember that little six-month "hiatus" I accidentally took last year... Even besides that, though, I have not had any consistent schedule for writing chapters. Well, that ends today. I am going to aim for a goal of one normal-sized chapter per month - emphasis on "aim for", that is. I am going to have a very busy schedule in the coming months, what with work and college and all that, so I can't make any solid promises on that. Also, chapters that end up being gigantic like _The Wounded Dragon Part II_ did will be exempt from this guideline, because they are gigantic and take a lot of time to write.**

**And finally: I have realized as of late that the title of this fic is kinda clunky and self-explanatory, so I'm gonna be changing that. You'll see what that turns out to be, hehe!**

**Again, I thank all of you readers for your support, even if it is so much as following the story. And, if any of y'all from the RWBY Nook is reading this, MeatTheChicken says hello!**

**\- BiiiiiiiiigBellyTheDragon**

* * *

**A side note: I stated in my bio that I came to this site to find all manner of hidden talent, and by God, did I ever! I encourage all to read these fics below; they can all be found in my "Favorites" list, as I have found that direct links will not work here.**

**"Maypops" by Juvenoia, whose work is CRIMINALLY underrated.**

**"To Find a Perch" by the visionary ahugebox.**

**"In RWBY's Shadow" by TheGoose2012, the undisputed MASTER of the OC.**

**"The Other Student" by thestarlightwanderer, and**

**"Journeys of a Mercenary" by M0SBanapple, two budding masterpieces in the making.**

**"Yang Branwen", Parts I and II, by our very talented friend in France, Kirino2-0. (Is it France? idk actually, sry if I got it wrong...)**

**"A Popular Guy", "Let the Dead Lie", and "By Steel and Starlight" by the illustrious Selene Sokal.**


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